^ntireto iQi^cf arlanJj SDabijef 



The Confiscation of John Chandler's Estate. With a 
Portrait. 8vo, ^3.00, 7iet. Postage extra. 

Tracts Relating to the Currency of Massachusetts 
Bay, 1682- 1720. Illustrated. 8vo, ^4.00, net. Post- 
paid, 54.21. 

HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY 

BOSTON AND NEW YORK 



THE CONFISCATION OF 

JOHN CHANDLER'S 

ESTATE 




J.^/^^Si^ jCQ^^. 




THE CONFISCATION OF 

JOHN CHANDLER'S 

ESTATE 



BY 



ANDKEW McFARLAND DAVIS 




BOSTON AND NEW YORK 

HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 

^ht fMtet^iiit pxz0y ^Cambridge 

1903 






Published May, igoj 

ioi s(^ 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PiOB 

I. IXTRODUCTORY 1 

II. John Chandler, Loyalist 6 

III. Legislation 25 

IV. The Value of the Estate 60 

V. The Papers of the Probate Files analyzed . . 71 

VI. The Court Records and the Archives .... 96 
VII. The London Transcripts 104 

APPENDIX 

A. Papers on File in the Probate Court of Worces- 

ter County in the Case of John Chandler . 119 

B. Records of the Cases of The State vs. Chan- 

dler IN the Inferiour Court of Common Pleas 187 

C. Papers in the Massachusetts Archives relating 

TO the Case of John Chandler 204 

D. Official Documents in the Public Record Office 

OF England relating to John Chandler's Claims 
for Temporary Support and Compensation for 
Losses sustained 213 



CALENDAR OF PAPERS RELATING TO THE ES- 
TATE OF JOHN CHANDLER, AN ABSENTEE. 

WORCESTER PROBATE FILES. 

1. Certificate of the Committee of Correspondence, etc., of the 

town of Worcester that John Chandler and others are 
absentees April 18, 1777 

2. Bond of Joseph Allen, Agent, £2000, sureties Benjamin 

Conklin and Benjamin Greene May 7, 1777 

3. Warrant appointing Samuel Curtis, Nathan Perry, and 

Samuel Miller of Worcester appraisers of property left 

by Chandler May 7, 1777 

Return of appraisers January 1, 1779 

Oath of Office January 2, 1778 [1779?] 

4. Warrant appointing John Cutting, David Scott, and Enoch 

Shephard appraisers of estate in Hampshire County 

May 20, 1778 
Oath of Office, John Kirkland August 6, 1778 

Oath of Office, David Scott and Enoch Shephard 

September 22, 1778 

5. Warrant appointing David Wilder, Timothy Boutell, and 

John Richardson, of Leominster, appraisers 

October 6, 1778 
Oath of Office October 8, 1778 

Return of appraisers October 8, 1778 

6. Warrant appointing John Fry, Esq., Henry Bond, and Pel- 

atiah Metcalf of Royalston appraisers October 6, 1778 
Oath of Office October 23, 1778 

7. Petition of Mary Chandler November 20, 1778 

8. Return of Royalston appraisers November 28, 1778 

9. Return of Hampshire County appraisers December 3, 1778 
Additional return December, 1778 



viii CALENDAR OF PAPERS 

10. Inventory of the real estate [1779] ? 

11. Inventory of the personal estate April 7, 1777 
Inventory of the real estate January 9, 1779 
Oath of Agent March 17, 1779 

12. Second petition of Mary Chandler March 17, 1779 

13. Account of Joseph Allen, Agent, April 29, 1779 
Jurat May 4, 1779 
Order of Court May 4, 1779 

14. Warrant appointing Samuel Curtis, Esq., Nathan Perry, 

and Samuel Brown Commissioners to examine claims 

September 1, 1779 
Oath of Office May, 1782 

15. Warrant appointing Benjamin Flagg, Esq., Nathan Perry, 

Gentleman, and Samuel Miller, yeoman. Commissioners 

to set ofe the wife's third part October 12, 1779 

Oath of Office December 6, 1779 

16. Report of the Commissioners to set off one third 

December 6, 1779 
Decree of Court February 8, 1780 

17. Account current of Joseph Allen, Agent, Oath of Office 

and allowance by Court May 2, 1780 

18. Report of Commissioners to examine claims 

( December 25, 1781 

( January 1, 1782 

Order of Court accepting and allowing same May 7, 1782 

19. Certificate of claim of John Erving May 20, 1782 

20. Certificate of claim of Edmund Hood May 20, 1782 

21. Bond of Indemnity, Benjamin Greene and others 

May 20, 1782 

22. Re-appointment of Commissioners to examine claims 

January 10, 1783 

23. Warrant appointing Samuel Salisbury, John Nazro, and 

Elijah Dix Commissioners to examine claims 

February 6, 1783 

24. Warrant appointing Daniel Waldo, John Nazro, and Elijah 

Dix Commissioners to examine claims 

February 20, 1783 



CALENDAR OF PAPERS ix 

Return of Commissioners May 20, 1783 

Oath of Office June 3, 1783 

Allowance by Court October 7, 1783 

25. Bond of Indemnity, George Bethune et als. March 1, 1783 

26. Decree of Court allowing return of Commissioners 

October 7, 1783 

27. Account of Joseph Allen, Agent [February, 1784] 
Blank form of jurat and order of allowance by Court 

February 3, 1784 

28. Receipt for Certificate of Claim April 14, 1785 

29. Certified copy of resolve of Legislature authorizing appoint- 

ment of Commissioners to examine claim of Thaddeus 
and WiUiam Maccarty June 15, 1785 

30. Warrant appointing Daniel Waldo, Elijah Dix, and John 

Nazro Commissioners to examine Maccarty claims 

June 1, 1787 
Oath of Office July 9, 1787 

Return July 10, 1787 



TRANSCRIPT OF THE COURT RECORDS AT WORCESTER. 

Judgments entered in two cases under the Confiscation Act 

December 12, 1780 

31. State vs. Chandler. 

Proceedings instituted by Levi Lincoln, appointed for that 
purpose by the Attorney-General, against John Chan- 
dler, for the confiscation of the Royalston property. 

32. State vs. Chandler. 

Proceedings instituted by Levi Lincoln, appointed for that 
purpose by the Attorney-General, against John Chandler 
for the confiscation of certain property in and about 
Worcester. 

MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES. 

33. Certificate of the Committee of Correspondence, Safety, and 

Inspection of Murrayfield as to real and personal estate of 
Chandler in that town May 26, 1777 



z 



CALENDAR OF PAPERS 



34. Certificate of Judge of Probate as to Report of Commis- 

sioners to examine claims against the estate 

May 8, 1782 

35. Certificate of Judge of Probate to claim of George Bethone 

May 20, 1782 

36. Extract from Certificate of Register of Probate as to names 

of Agents June 8, 1782 

37. Certificate of Judge of Probate as to report of Commis- 

sioners to examine claims against the estate 

October 7, 1783 

38. Statement of Account of Committee for the Sale of Absen- 

tees' Estates in Worcester County April 20, 1784 (?) 

39. Receipt of Gad Peirce no date 

40. Memorandum of Expenses on real estate purchased by 

Levi Lincoln, etc. no date 

41. Bill of Probate Office June 10, 1784 

42. Report of Secretary as to Warrants drawn on Chandler's 

Estate. 

LONDON TRANSCRIPTS. 

43. Petition to Lord Germaine for " present support " 

September 2, 1776 

44. Petition to Lords Commissioners of Treasury for increase 

February 17, 1779 

45. Certificate of Robert Auchmuty October 29, 1782 

46. Certificate of Thomas Flucker November 4, 1782 

47. Certificate of Thomas Gage January 28, 1779 

48. Certificate of Thomas Hutchinson January 28, 1779 

49. Certificate of Thomas Oliver January 30, 1779 

50. Certificate of Robert Auchmuty February 17, 1779 

51. Minute of proceedings of Board and decision 

52. Memorial to Commissioners praying for compensation 

February 9, 1784 

53. Schedule of Chandler's property annexed to Memorial 

February 9, 1784 

54. Supplemental Schedule March 15, 1784 



CALENDAR OF PAPERS xi 

55. Affidavit of James Putnam to loyalty and losses 

August 14, 1784 

56. Affidavit of Joshua Upham to loyalty and losses 

August 17, 1784 

57. Affidavit of Abijah Willard to loyalty and losses 

July 19, 1784 

58. Affidavit of Ebenezer Cutler to loyalty and losses 

August 18, 1784 

59. Affidavit of Daniel Murray to loyalty and losses 

August 17, 1784 

60. Certified copy of the Worcester Protest June 24, 1774 

61. Certificate of Gov. Hancock as to certain County Officers 

October 23, 1783 

62. Certified copy of writ of Habere facias possessionem (Royal- 

ston property). Date of writ January 24, 1781 

63. Certified copy of Judgment Record, Hampshire County, 

Confiscation suit, entered August, 1781 

64. Certified copy of Writ of Habere facias possessionem 

(Worcester property) January 24, 1781 

65. Appointment of Worcester appraisers May 7, 1777 

66. Inventory of Personal and Real Estate about Worcester 

67. Appointment of Leominster appraisers, October 6, and 

their return October 8, 1778 

68. Appointment of Royalston appraisers, October 6, and their 

return November 28, 1778 

69. Appointment of Hampshire County appraisers 

May 20, 1778 

70. Return of Hampshire County appraisers 

December 3, 1778 

71. Oath of Agent March 17, 1779 

72. Certificate of Register of Probate October 21, 1783 

73. Certified copy of the Judgment Record in the Royalston 

Confiscation suit December, 1780 

74. Certified copy of the Judgment Record in the Worcester 

Confiscation suit December, 1780 

75. Transcriber's note as to three duplicates 



xii CALENDAR OF PAPERS 

76. Certificate of the Proprietor's Clerk of Murray field as to 

Chandler's Interest October 29, 1783 

77. Certificate of Register of Deeds, Hampshire County, as to 

Chandler's conveyances October 31, 1783 

78. Certificate of Register of Deeds, Hampshire County, as to 

conveyances to Chandler October 31, 1783 

79. Certificate of the sale, by the Committee, of the Worcester 

County estate November 4, 1783 

80. Letter from Chandler, enclosing Certificate showing sale of 

Rqyalston estate October 11, 1785 

81. Certificate of Governor Bowdoin as to member of Com- 

mittee June 9, 1785 

82. Certificate of Committee as to sale of Royalston estate 

June 18, 1785 

83. Certified copy of Report of Committee to set off dower 

February 8, 1780 

84. Letter from Chandler asking if further evidence is required 

November 10, 1785 

85. Letter from Chandler enclosing certificates as to sale of his 

property February 28, 1786 

86. Certificate of Governor Bowdoin as to members of Com- 

mittee January 3, 1786 

87. Certificate of Committee as to sale of Worcester County 

property December 27, 1785 

88. Certificate of Committee as to sale of Hampshire County 

estate November, 1783 

89. Duplicate of 88 November 3, 1783 

90. Memorial of Chandler praying for continuance of his allow- 

ance during absence from Great Britain May 1, 1787 

91. Letter from Chandler as to claims against his estate 

August 30, 1788 

92. Affidavit of Chandler as to claims against his estate 

August 30, 1788 

93. Certified copy of the warrants drawn, claims allowed, and 

proceeds of sale of Chandler's estate 

94. Detailed statement as to claims against the estate 

95. Chandler's review of the detailed statement 



CALENDAR OF PAPERS xiii 

96. Duplicate of letter of August 30, and enclosure. En- 

dorsed November 6, 1788 

97. Extract from Anstey's Report 

98. Extract from Alphabetical list October 31, 1787 

99. Certified copy of Account current with Chandler's estate 

October 31, 1786 

100. Extracts from volume 83, Audit Office, Loyalist series 

101. Final report of Commissioners 



THE CONFISCATION OF JOHN 
CHANDLER'S ESTATE 



CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCTORY 



At the October meeting of the American Anti- 
quarian Society, 1900, a letter, written in 1828 by 
Mrs. Lucretia (Chandler) Bancroft to one of her 
daughters, was communicated. This letter was to a 
certain extent autobiographical, and its special inter- 
est lay in the picture which it furnished of the sud- 
den change in the fortunes of the Chandler family 
caused by the outbreak of the Revolution. In its 
pages we catch sight of the flight of the father, 
Colonel John Chandler of Worcester, who was a 
loyalist ; we note the effects upon his family of the 
seizure of his property ; and we cannot fail to per- 
ceive the responsibilities and sufferings entailed upon 
the children through their changed circumstances. 
The evident grief of the writer of the letter at the 
separation from her father, whose name is asso- 
ciated in her mind with reminiscences of domestic 
happiness in their old home, and is ever mentioned 
by her with tender regard and affectionate respect, 



2 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

must arouse the sympatliy of even the most casual 
reader. 

In a paper which was read before the Society 
at the same meeting, Hon. Horace Davis of San 
Francisco described the members of the family 
referred to in the letter, and set forth at some length 
the genealogy of the Chandler family and their 
connection, through the various offices which they 
had held, with the history and progress of Worces- 
ter County. 

A paper was communicated at the same time by 
myself, which was entitled " Historical Notes on 
the Letter," — the purpose of which was to add 
certain biographical facts concerning the writer of 
the letter, and also such information as I could 
obtain concerning the sequestration of the estate. 
The wealth of illustrative material bearing upon the 
seizure of the property which was disclosed by an 
examination of the probate files of Worcester County 
led to the incorporation in the paper of an account 
of some of the more important of these documents, 
and an analysis of the laws under which the proceed- 
ings were taken. The Hmitations imposed upon a 
communication at a meeting of this sort necessarily 
prevented more extended work in this direction, and 
lack of space in the pages of the published proceed- 
ings precluded the idea of furnishing copies of the 
original papers. Moreover, it was known that there 
were many documents in London bearing upon the 
case, from which additional information could un- 
doubtedly be obtained, so that the publication then 



INTRODUCTORY 3 

of the material at hand would have resulted in a 
work avowedly incomplete. 

Copies of these London documents were subse- 
quently forwarded to the American Antiquarian 
Society by the late Benjamin F. Stevens, and through 
these, in connection with the documents on file in 
Worcester, the opportunity is now afforded to trace 
the history of the various proceedings against the 
Chandler estate, and simultaneously to identify with 
reasonable certainty the several resolves or acts 
under authority of which the different steps were 
taken. The documentary evidence bearing upon 
the seizure and confiscation of the estates of loyal- 
ists which has been preserved in Massachusetts is so 
full that it is quite possible there may be other 
cases in which the accessible papers would furnish 
equally vivid object-lessons of the application of this 
legislation, and in which an examination of the 
resolves furnishing authority for the official action 
would as well bring out the various features which 
the historian might consider of importance. 

One of the most interesting points suggested by 
an analysis of this legislation is the contest between 
those lawmakers who at the outset would have 
thrown off all restraint, and those more conservative, 
who so shaped the earHer legislation of this sort 
that in its phraseology, at least, it would have been 
justifiable in case of a reconciliation with Great 
Britain. It is possible, indeed, that the case of some 
refugee nearer Boston would, by its closer touch 
with the circumstances which led to some of this 



4 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

early legislation, bring forth with greater force the 
phase last alluded to, but it is not Hkely that any 
case will better illustrate the various points involved 
in the general legislation on the subject. 

It was doubtless true that so long as the legisla- 
tive body styled itself a Provincial Congress, it still 
regarded the local government as subordinate to 
Great Britain. Nor did the change in name to a 
Colonial Assembly carry with it any idea of separa- 
tion from the Crown. Caution was therefore natu- 
ral in the legislation of the provincial and of the 
colonial periods, and it is not surprising to find that 
in many of the resolves ordering the seizure of the 
property of loyalists, there is an underlying idea of 
a possible future accounting. Why this state of 
mind should have survived after the abandonment 
of the colonial theory, even though the State for 
a time did not adopt a constitution, is not clear, 
yet it was not until 1779 that the Confiscation Act 
was passed, although the seizure and sale of the per- 
sonal property and the appropriation of the rents 
derivable from the real estate were in the mean time 
accomplished through various resolves, which were 
ultimately superseded by an act which was euphe- 
mistically entitled " An Act to prevent the waste, 
destruction, and embezzlement of the goods or 
estates of such persons who have left the same and 
fled to our enemies for protection ; and also for 
payment of their just debts out of their estates." 

The first of the papers connected with the Chan- 
dler case is dated April 18, 1777, but references in 



INTRODUCTORY 5 

subsequent papers to anterior events show that 
before the passage of the act to prevent the waste, 
destruction, and embezzlement of the goods or 
estates of refugees, the property of Chandler in 
Worcester had been seized by the committee of 
correspondence. 

Thus we have proceedings inaugurated under 
authority conferred by the resolves passed prior to 
this act, and as we examine the papers in their 
chronological arrangement, we find steps taken which 
illustrate not only every section of the act, but also 
the amendments to it, until finally we reach the pro- 
ceedings under the Confiscation Act and the sale of 
the real estate. 

There can be but httle doubt that a review of 
these proceedings, accompanied by copies of the 
original papers, will be of value to historical stu- 
dents. Some interest will naturally be excited in the 
fate of the victim of these proceedings who, driven 
from Worcester by the ill usage of his fellow towns- 
men and prohibited by legislation from returning to 
his former home, died a lonely exile in London. 
Although but little is known of his career after he 
went to London, we can learn something about him, 
and such information as is at hand will be found 
in the next chapter. 



CHAPTER II 

JOHN CHANDLER, LOYALIST 

The branch of the Chandler family to which 
belonged the refugee whose fortunes we are follow- 
ing settled in Woodstock, then a part of Massachu- 
setts. There were four Johns in succession, and it 
was through the energy of the first of them that 
the family fortunes began to rise. The progenitor, 
William Chandler of Roxbury, seems to have been 
incapable of taking care of himself. It was under 
his son John that the move to Woodstock was made, 
and it was due to his thrift that the second John 
had a fair start in life. 

In the paper communicated to the American Anti- 
quarian Society, which has already been referred to, 
Hon. Horace Davis says of the latter : " He accumu- 
lated a comfortable property ; he represented Wood" 
stock in the General Court, and served in the Indian 
Wars with some distmction as Major and Colonel. 
When Worcester County was formed in 1731, he was 
made Probate Judge and Chief Justice of the Court 
of Common Pleas, and he was for seven years a 
member of the Governor's Council." 

Of his personality we have but a shadowy outHne, 
but chance has preserved for us an address made by 



JOHN CHANDLER, LOYALIST 7 

him to the Grand Jury on the 5th of February, 1734, 
at the first court of general sessions held in the first 
court house built by the county of Worcester. An 
account of the proceedings on that occasion is given 
in the " Weekly Rehearsal " of February 18. The 
speaker, whose identity with Hon. John Chandler of 
Woodstock was established by Rev. Dr. Bancroft,^ 
was evidently a man of some cultivation. He ap- 
proaches the subject of the dedication of the build- 
ing in an apologetic tone, as if he feared that his 
participation in the affair might be construed into 
an approval of " the superstitious custom used by 
many in the world, of dedicating or consecrating to 
saints or angels, places built for public use and 
service." His opinion was that they should dedi- 
cate themselves to the service of God. He praised 
the new court house, which, he says, exceeds " so 
many others in the Province built for the like ser- 
vice, in the capaciousness, regularity, and workman- 
ship thereof." He quotes from the Old Testament, 
asking the gentlemen of the jury wherein they " can 
be better instructed than in the charge given by 
Moses, at the command of God, to the officers of 
the tribes of Israel," and he winds up his charge to 
the jury with a stated approval of their past con- 
duct, which, however, he cautiously qualifies with 
the limitation, " as far as I have observed." 

This brief speech enables us to get a much clearer 
conception of the man than is to be derived from 

^ See sermon delivered January 6, 1811, published in Worcester, 
1811, note a. 



8 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

the mere rehearsal of the offices that he held, or 
from any narrative of his life which can be con- 
structed from the events known to us in connection 
therewith. 

With reference to the career of the third John, 
Mr. Davis says that he " moved to Worcester, where 
he held pretty much every office in the County. He 
was Selectman, Town Treasurer, County Treasurer, 
Sheriff, Register of Probate, Register of Deeds, 
Probate Judge, Chief Justice of County Courts, 
Representative to the General Court, Colonel in 
the Militia, and a member of the Governor's Council. 
He was also appointed by Governor Shirley, in 1754, 
a delegate to the proposed congress designed to 
concert measures for the union of the British Ameri- 
can Colonies. He died in 1762, wealthy and full of 
honors. In him the family reached its zenith." 

In further evidence of the prominent position 
which he occupied in public affairs, it may be men- 
tioned that he was one of the three commissioners 
named by the assembly in the " Act for the more 
speedy finishing of the Land Bank or Manufactory 
Scheme," which act was passed by the General 
Court, January 15, 1742-43. This office he ac- 
cepted, but the labor connected with it was found 
to be much more irksome than was anticipated, 
and the performance of the duties was practically 
incompatible with a residence in Worcester. He 
therefore resigned very soon after the organization of 
the commission. He also held for a number of years 
the office of Clerk of Courts for Worcester County. 



JOHN CHANDLER, LOYALIST 9 

His son John, the fourth of that name, was the 
refugee. He was born February 26, 1720-21. To 
quote again from the paper of Hon. Horace Davis, 
" He was Selectman, Town Treasurer, Town Clerk, 
County Treasurer, Sheriff, Judge of Probate, and 
Representative to the General Court. He was also 
Colonel of the Worcester Regiment, and in 1757 
saw active duty in that capacity." 

" Up to 1774," adds Mr. Davis, " Chandler's life 
had been one of almost unbroken prosperity, but 
when the storm of rebellion against England broke 
out, his loyalist sentiments brought him into angry 
opposition to popular feehng, and he was com- 
pelled to leave home and family and retire to Boston. 
When Boston fell into the hands of the Continental 
Army, he fled to Halifax, and thence to London, 
where he spent the rest of his Hf e, twenty-four years. 
This experience gave him in Worcester the nick- 
name of * Tory John,' while in England he was 
called the ' Honest Refugee,' because of the mod- 
esty of his claims against the British Government 
for losses sustained by reason of his loyalty." In 
addition to the of&ces above enumerated. Colonel 
Chandler was for many years a member of His 
Majesty's Council, and held at the time of the out- 
break a commission in the Court of General Sessions 
of the Peace. 

In the fall of 1774, when the bitterness of feeling 
engendered by the political contest then going on 
between the tories and those who subsequently were 
denominated the " patriots " became so strong that 



10 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

discussion was abandoned and threats against, and 
sometimes personal violence upon, the weaker party 
were substituted, John Chandler was living in com- 
fort in his spacious homestead in Worcester. Up to 
that time his life had been not only uniformly pros- 
perous, but entirely free from serious trouble. From 
his father he must have inherited considerable pro- 
perty. The various offices which he held furnished 
revenue, and in addition, he was interested in a 
store, the profits of which increased his income. He 
owned several farms in the immediate vicinity of 
Worcester, all of which, under the circumstances of 
life then existing in Worcester County, were easily 
to be rented. One of these farms he retained for 
his own use, and from it he could readily supply his 
household with a large part of the food necessary in 
an establishment conducted upon so generous a 
scale. His daughter says in the letter communicated 
to the American Antiquarian Society that he dis- 
tributed his bounties among those of his fellow citi- 
zens who needed help, including, indeed, among the 
beneficiaries some of those who afterwards joined in 
making life in Worcester impossible for him. There 
can be but little doubt that if he had died before 
the crisis came, he would have left behind him the 
reputation of an honored citizen who was well be- 
loved by his friends and neighbors. 

From the letter referred to above, we learn that 
there were about fifteen beds to be made up each 
day in the Chandler household. In a petition pre- 
sented by Chandler to the Lords Commissioners of 



JOHN CHANDLER, LOYALIST 11 

the Treasury, the statement is made that the peti- 
tioner left behind him sixteen children. The oldest 
of the sixteen was then a man upwards of thirty 
years of age, and while it is clear that most of the 
children were then living at the old home, it is not 
probable that all of them were. Be that as it may, 
the household was evidently a large one, and though 
it is quite certain that in a New England country 
home the younger members of the household would 
have been called upon to assist in taking care of the 
house, still so large a family required servants. The 
actual staff is stated in the letter to have been a 
good cook, a second woman for chamber work, a 
gii'l to tend the youngest child, and a black girl 
trained to table service and household work. The 
house was liberally furnished, as is evident from the 
inventory made at the time of the appraisal of the 
personal property, even though the plate, the linen, 
and the library, previously concealed, do not appear 
in it.^ Mrs. Chandler had lawns and laces, and a 
special woman to care for them and for the Hnen. 

These facts, gathered from the letter, furnish us 
with an idea of the character of the home to which 
the father of the family was accustomed to come 
each day to his midday meal, and to which he re- 
turned every afternoon at the close of his labors. 
We can also from the same source obtain a glimpse 
of the household life, and can see the colonel, as he 

^ These things were undoubtedly sent to Boston. Sabine says in 
his Loyalists that Colonel Chandler derived his means of support 
while in Boston from the sale of the silver. 



12 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

was generally styled, seated by the fireside smoking 
his pipe and caressing his little daughter. His daily 
after-dinner glass of wine recalls the customs of the 
times, and hints at the possibility of more copious 
indulgence when the hospitable dinner-table was sur- 
rounded by guests. From various sources we have 
evidence of the affectionate and confiding nature of 
the ties which bound the family together, and of the 
tender relations which existed between the refugee 
himself and his wife. 

Such was the home which fidelity to political 
principles compelled Chandler to abandon, and such 
were the happy circumstances of life from which he 
was obhged to tear himself, unless he would give 
adhesion to the new ideas promulgated by a party 
with which he had no sympathy. It was natural 
that he should be a loyaHst. It was inevitable that, 
as the time of actual outbreak approached and party 
lines were drawn tighter and tighter, the patriots 
should entertain towards him some of the feelings 
of abhorrence with which tories were then regarded. 
The decline of his popularity with his fellow citizens 
could not, under these circumstances, have been 
avoided. In his case, however, matters were brought 
to a crisis by two acts committed by him, which 
aroused the indignation of his fellow townsmen of 
the revolutionary party, and in the end brought 
humiliation upon him and upon all who were asso- 
ciated with him in the commission of these acts. 
The first of these was the signing of an address 
to Governor Gage ; the second, the signing of the 



JOHN (.rLANDLER, LOYALIST 13 

famous protest by the Worcester tories against the 
proceedings of their fellow citizens of the patriot 
party, and especially against the acts of the Worces- 
ter committee of correspondence. 

There was no reason for him to suspect the im- 
portant results which would follow from his joining 
in the address to Gage, but the signing of the pro- 
test carried with it inevitably the consequence that 
it would irritate and annoy a preponderant majority 
of his fellow townsmen, already greatly excited and 
in a turbulent mood. Lincoln characterizes this 
protest as " one of the boldest and most indignant 
remonstrances of the friends of royal government 
among the productions of the times." ^ 

Clark Chandler, a son of Colonel Chandler, the 
town clerk, who enrolled it upon the records, was 
compelled publicly to expunge it, and was pubHcly 
admonished for recording it. Not content with this, 
the revolutionary party brought the matter before 
"The Committees of Correspondence and delegates 
of the several towns met in Convention," and it was 
" Voted : That three persons be chosen a commit- 
tee to acquaint John Chandler, Esq. and the other 
protesters, that they must follow after the judges 
through the ranges [ranks ? ] of the body of the 
people ; and that they go immediately after the 
judges and read their recantations." ^ 

Lincoln describes the enforcement of this extraor- 
dinary punishment in the following words : " The 

^ This protest is to be found among the London transcripts, post. 
* Journals Prov. Cong, and Com. of Safety, etc., pp. 635, 636. 



14 THE CHANDLER CONVISCATION 

signers of the protest had been informed by the 
committee of correspondence that apology for their 
opposition would be required from them. Forty- 
three of them had met the evening previous * to this 
visitation at the King's Arms Tavern, and having 
subscribed an acknowledgment of error and repent- 
ance and received an instrument purporting to restore 
them to favor, and insuring protection, they had 
mixed in the crowd, unsuspicious of any insult. 
Those who appeared were collected by the revolu- 
tionary magistrates, and on the arrival of Mr. Paine, 
were escorted through the ranks, halting at every 
few paces to hsten to the reading of their several 
confessions of political transgression. Having thus 
passed in review and suffered some wanton outrage 
of feeling, in addition to the humiliation of the 
procession, they were dismissed." 

The same convention which had decreed this de- 
grading ceremonial as a punishment for the expres- 
sion, in dignified phrase, of a set of political opin- 
ions, also voted, on the following day, to accept the 
acknowledgment made by six citizens, of whom John 
Chandler was one, " for aspersing the people of this 
county, in a late address to Governor Gage." They 
also voted : " That the Justices who addressed Gov- 
ernor Gage at the last session of the Court be brought 
before the convention and make and sign a declara- 
tion in writing, of the inadvertence of their proceed- 
ings." The record then goes on, " Which is done, 
and the declaration is as follows : — 

1 August 21, 1774. 



JOHN CHANDLER, LOYALIST 15 

" Whereas the Committee in Convention have expressed their 
uneasiness to a number of the justices of the common pleas and 
general sessions, now present in the Convention, who, in an 
address to Governor Gage, at their session in June last, as- 
persed the people of this County ; these justices, in the presence 
of the Convention frankly declare, that they precipitately entered 
into the measure ; they are sorry for it ; and they disclaim any 
intention to injure the character of any ; and were the same 
measure again proposed, they would reject it." 

John Chandler was, under compulsion, one of the 
signers of this document.^ 

Lincoln, speaking of the situation of the royahsts 
at that time, says : " Most of the protesters had been 
induced to make a submission. Some who refused 
were waylaid and cruelly beaten. A few remained 
obstinate and finally retired into exile. Others, un- 
able to separate themselves from their friends and 
country and to sacrifice all they held dear, were 
persecuted into compliance with the public will, and 
at length purchased safety for person and property 
by sohciting forgiveness in terms more humiliating 
in proportion to the time it was deferred." ^ 

The condition of afPairs portrayed in the events 
which have just been described brought vividly be- 
fore Chandler the impossibility of his remaining vdth 
safety longer in Worcester. His daughter puts it 
that he was not willing to live in altercation with 
those around him, but this is hardly strong enough 
to cover the situation. An officeholder and the 
son of an officeholder, who had been bred with the 

* Journals Prov. Cong., etc., p. 638. 

'^ Lincoln's History of Worcester, Hersey's reprint, p. 90. 



16 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

belief that loyalty was a duty, he could not perma- 
nently sacrifice his opinions, even though, to escape 
violence at the hands of a mob, he had purchased 
temporary safety by signing a recantation. He, 
therefore, in the fall of 1774, sought protection 
in Boston, where he remained upwards of sixteen 
months. While there he was enrolled in a company 
of loyalists, and cheerfully did military duty in de- 
fence of the town. When Boston was evacuated, he 
accompanied the British troops to Hahfax. In July, 
1776, he went to England, and from that time down 
to November, 1786, he remained uninterruptedly 
in London. During this interval the possibility of 
his ever being permitted to return to his family 
was removed by the passage in October, 1778, of 
the "Act to prevent the return to this state of cer- 
tain persons therein named," etc. John Chandler 
and Rufus Chandler, his son, were therein named. 
If they should return in spite of the act, sheriffs, 
committees of correspondence, grand jurors, consta- 
bles, tithingmen, and other inhabitants of the town 
to which they might come were empowered and 
directed to apprehend them and take them before a 
justice of the peace, who in turn was directed to put 
them in jail until they could be deported. If they 
should venture to return a second time, the penalty 
was death. 

Colonel Chandler was accompanied in his exile by 
his son, Rufus. In 1784, he wrote to his daughter, 
Lucretia, " Your brother Rufus lives in my neigh- 
borhood. We dine together every day. It is a 



JOHN CHANDLER, LOYALIST 17 

comfort to me." This letter is full of tender grief 
for his lost wife, whose death had taken place about 
six months before, and of gratitude to his sons for 
their care of his daughters. It closes with a para- 
graph which will bear the interpretation that, not- 
withstanding the " Act to prevent the return," etc., 
he still had a faint hope that he might be permitted 
some day to rejoin his family. " I long," he says, 
" for the happy day when I may see all my dear 
children, but whether I am to be so happy, time must 
determine. Pray God bless, keep, and preserve you. 
My love to all my near and dear connections." 

On the 25th of July, 1786, he received permission 
from the commissioners for inquiring into losses by 
American loyaHsts to receive for a period of twelve 
months his allowance for temporary support, during 
absence from Great Britain. Fortified with this 
assurance that his only means of livelihood would 
not be jeopardized by the step, he went to Nova 
Scotia, where he arrived in November, 1786. The 
permit to receive the allowance while absent from 
Great Britain was for twelve months only. In 
May, 1787, being then in Halifax, he petitioned for 
an extension of the permit for another twelve months. 
In this petition he states, " That being an old man, 
aged more than sixty-six years, he did not leave 
England with any intention of doing business, and 
wishes to remain in Nova Scotia only for the purpose 
of being with his children, having two sons in that 
province and a daughter married to a Mr. Putnam 
of New Brunswick." ^ 

^ The petition is among the London transcripts, post. 



18 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

His son Rufus accompanied him on this trans- 
atlantic trip. The dependent condition of the father 
and son being distasteful to them, they went to 
Halifax, expecting that Rufus would be able to open 
a lawyer's office and earn a living. By this time 
(May, 1787) they had made up their minds that this 
was impracticable, and were about to start for An- 
napolis to see what chance there was in that place.^ 

A letter from Colonel Chandler dated Annapolis 
Royal, August 30, 1788, a copy of which is given 
hereafter among the London transcripts, shows that 
if they went to Annapolis when they expected to, 
they stayed there upwards of fifteen months. Shortly 
after this they must have returned to London, as the 
extension of the permit to receive the allowance 
during absence from Great Britain, which was granted 
upon petition, was Hmited to the 10th of October, 
1788. 

Colonel, or as he was sonjetimes called Judge, 
Chandler died in London, September 26, 1800, and 
was buried at Ishngton. His death called forth the 
following obituary in the " Gentleman's Magazine " 
for October, 1800 : " In Edgeware-road, John Chan- 
dler, Esq., an American loyalist, who from his 
attachment to the good order and peace of society, 
and affection to the British Constitution, left his 
country, a numerous family, and affluent estate, and 
took refuge in Great Britain. Fully convinced of 
the truth and propriety of an observation of an 
antient writer : * Fear thou the Lord and the King, 

1 Letter of Rufus, N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., vol. xsiv. p. 247. 



JOHN CHANDLER, LOYALIST 19 

and meddle not with them that are given to change/ 
he exemplified it by a pious and loyal, a peaceful 
and inoffensive conduct; and died, at eighty, an 
honest man, a good member of society, and a pious 
Christian." 

Peter Whitney, when he published his " History 
of the County of Worcester" in 1793, was too close 
to the Revolution to say anything in favor of Tory 
John, who was still alive, but he thus speaks of the 
family : — 

" The Town of Worcester in particular and the 
County of Worcester at large were originally greatly 
indebted to the Hon. John Chandler, Esq. of Wood- 
stock, the first judge in the County, and his son, the 
first Col. John Chandler of Worcester, who, in pro- 
cess of time succeeded his father in all his offices, 
titles and honors, for their address, activity and en- 
terprise. And their names ought to be held in 
grateful remembrance." 

Just prior to the appointment in London of com- 
missioners to investigate the claims of American 
loyalists, the Board of Treasury made an independ- 
ent investigation. In their decision of Chandler's 
case they say : " This gentleman was in a most re- 
spectable situation in life and has been spoken well 
of, by every one who has spoken of him at all." ^ 

1 This opinion was based upon the certificates to character and losses 
filed with the Board. They were furnished by ten well-known men, 
among whom were Governor Hutchinson, General Gage, Thomas 
Flucker, at one time secretary of the Province, Thomas Oliver, and 
Robert Auchmuty. The certificates of these gentlemen, with others, 
are to be found in the London transcripts, post. 



20 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Joseph Willard, in his address before the members 
of the bar in 1829, speaks of the distinguished fam- 
ily of the name of Chandler " who had had extensive 
and almost unbounded sway in the County, ab primo 
origine." 

William Lincoln, in his " History of Worcester," 
says of John Chandler : " He was cheerful in tem- 
perament, engaging in manner, hospitable as a citizen, 
friendly and kind as a neighbor, industrious and 
enterprising as a merchant, and successful as a man 
of business." 

Jonathan Peele Dabney, in the " Christian Exam- 
iner," in July, 1847, said : " The Hon. John Chan- 
dler of Worcester, whose sons and daughters were as 
numerous as those of his royal master, and with 
whose family every other leading family of the 
region was proud to entwine itself by marriage alli- 
ance, sleeps far away from the town and shire of 
whose honors he had almost the monopoly, and the 
very name had there died out, as we learn from 
Lincoln, a full generation ago." 

Lorenzo Sabine, in his " Loyalists," says : " The 
late President Dwight spoke of Colonel Chandler 
and his family as distinguished for talents and 
virtue." ^ 

The American Antiquarian Society possesses a 
portrait of Colonel Chandler. A steel engraving of 
this portrait was prepared for Dr. Chandler's family 
genealogy, and the same plate was used for the 
illustration of Hersey's reprint of Lincoln's " His- 

1 Sabine's Loyalists, vol. i. p. 303. 



JOHN CHANDLER, LOYALIST 21 

tory of Worcester." The engraving bears the date 
of 1764, and gives Chandler's age as fifty-three. 
Without stopping to analyze these figures, I assumed 
in my paper before the American Antiquarian So- 
ciety at the October meeting, 1900, that they were 
correct, and said that although the portrait depicted 
a man whose career theretofore had been absolutely 
free from care, and whose relations with his family 
were shown by the repeated references in his daugh- 
ter's letter to the affectionate manner in which he 
treated her, still the impression derived as to the 
state of mind of the subject from the contemplation 
of the portrait was that of sadness. To this I added, 
" If the picture had been painted a few years later, 
one could understand this, for the time came when 
his loyalty to the government converted this wealthy 
officeholder into a proscribed fugitive, whose right 
to tread Massachusetts soil was by special legislation 
denied him, while his wife, if she would avail herself 
of the dower rights set out from his property for her 
support, was compelled to remain within the limits 
of the United States." I have since been informed 
by my brother, Hon. J. C. Bancroft Davis, that the 
picture was painted in London. This of course fully 
accounts for the sad expression which it bears. An 
examination of the inscription on Dr. Chandler's 
engraving shows that there is an error of ten years 
either in the date or the age. Judge Chandler was 
born in February, 1720-21, and his fifty-fourth 
year would have fallen in 1774, a year full of 
troubles and not a time for portrait painting. 



22 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

We have followed the course of the exile to the 
end. A word remains to be said concerning the 
fortunes of the family. For a little over two years 
it would seem that they were left in possession of 
the estate. Then the personal property was seized, 
and possession was taken of the real estate in the 
vicinity of Worcester by the local committee of 
correspondence and inspection. A portion of the 
household goods was assigned to the use of the 
family, and the remainder was sold at auction. 
How galling to them this was may be inferred from 
the comments in the letter of Mrs. Bancroft, where, 
speaking of her mother being present at the sale, 
she says : " While her furniture was sold in her own 
house, and the very chair on which she sat bid off 
from her purchase. She bore it well, and never put 
herself down by losing her dignity." In the ulti- 
mate division of the property, enough real estate, 
including the homestead, to make up one third of 
the total appraised value of the estate was assigned 
to Mrs. Chandler for use during her hfe, provided 
she remained within the United States. While this 
was suf&cient to protect the family from want as 
long as she should live, their entire relations to life 
were changed. In place of luxury and ease, they 
now had to work and to economize to make both 
ends meet. 

The death of Mrs. Chandler raised a new set of 
questions. All rights of the family in the real pro- 
perty ceased with that event. This was partially 
rectified by special legislation, through which the 



JOHN CHANDLER, LOYALIST 23 

children remaining at home were put in possession 
of a part of the property, the details concerning 
which are given further on. 

The social prestige of the family, which is alluded 
to in some of the notices which have been quoted, 
was doubtless due in part to the wealth accumulated 
during successive generations of peaceful prosperity. 
Stripped of that wealth, the posterity of the refugee 
no longer held claim for social position on that 
ground. Yet it cannot be said that Chandler's 
descendants have, for that reason, failed in their 
hold upon the esteem of their fellow citizens. The 
daughter whose letter has called forth this investi- 
gation married Aaron Bancroft, a clergyman, who 
became a recognized leader in the Unitarian de- 
nomination, and was president of the American 
Unitarian Association from 1825 to 1836. He 
wrote a life of Washington which has gone through 
several editions and has been quite recently repub- 
lished. 

In the next generation, George Bancroft the 
historian is to be found, who filled many pubhc 
offices with great distinction, but whose name is 
better known through his literary work as the au- 
thor of the " History of the United States." Two 
of the granddaughters of the refugee were married 
to men, both of whom were members of Congress 
and governors of Massachusetts, one being in addi- 
tion a United States Senator. The male descendants 
of the next generation furnish the names of sev- 
eral who achieved distinction in public life, and 



24 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

others who acquired renown in the army and in the 
navy. The fourth generation from the refugee has 
contributed to the pubhc life of the country, but 
most of this generation are still too young to have 
made their mark. The fifth is represented in this 
world, but its history is as yet unwritten. It is 
indeed true that the voice of the sixth generation 
has been heard by a privileged few. 



CHAPTER III 

LEGISLATION 

An examination of the several resolves passed by 
the committee of safety and the provincial congress 
in Massachusetts, and later the resolves and statutes 
passed by the " assembly of the colony," will reveal 
the fact that there was some authority to be derived 
therefrom for nearly every outrage committed upon 
the property of the loyahsts in the name of the 
committees of the several towns. No such legislation 
exists, however, under cover of which assaults upon 
the person could be justified. The great dramatist 
represents the brawlers in the streets of Verona, even 
while carrying out the traditions of the houses to 
which they belonged, as discussing whether they had 
the law on their side before they would take their 
chances of injuring their opponents in a street fight. 
Not so the patriots. However scrupulous they might 
be in seeking the protection of the law before invad- 
ing property rights, they did not hesitate to maltreat 
offending tories in a lawless and scandalous manner. 
If acts of this sort were perpetrated by members of 
committees, they were subsequently brought under 
the segis of the law. Any member of any of the 
committees of correspondence, etc., at any time prior 



26 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

to the Declaration of Independence, who made any 
mistake in the seizure of property, or in apprehend- 
ing or confining any person, was, by a law passed 
for that purpose, screened from suits for damage.^ 

The resolves and the statutes of this period also 
tell the story of the progressive change of feeHng 
towards the loyalists which accompanied the growth 
of belief that the colonies might prevail, and that a 
separate government might be the result of the con- 
test then going on. Even before the first collision 
at arms, many loyal citizens sought protection in 
Boston from the abuse of their former friends and 
neighbors. So long as there was no form of gov- 
ernment except that under the charter, there was 
no such thing as an abandonment of property in- 
volved in taking such a step as this, but after the 
organization of the provincial congress, Massachu- 
setts was for a time practically under two govern- 
ments, the one having control in Boston, the other 
covering the rest of the province. When, therefore, 
after the battle of Lexington, citizens of the towns 
near Boston fled to that place, their flight was in 
some cases, at least, accompanied by an abandonment 
of property. In some instances relatives were left 
in charge of the homes thus deserted, but there were 
many prominent men who felt that personal safety 
was the fiirst consideration, and who, being entirely 

^ An Act to indemnify and secure from prosecutions in law per- 
sons who, by their laudable exertions under the late government of 
the King of Great Britain, have exposed themselves to actions of 
damage, and other prosecutions, in certain cases ; passed April 10, 
1780. Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1169. 



LEGISLATION 27 

unprepared for the unexpected situation, were com- 
pelled to leave their homes without having had a 
chance to install representatives. Property thus 
abandoned was exposed to pillage. Its protection 
was the first thought of the authorities. At that 
time sequestration could not have entered the mind 
of anybody as a possible solution for the question of 
its future disposition. It may be assumed, there- 
fore, that the sole motive which governed the first 
legislation touching property in this condition was 
the protection of the community from the excesses 
of evil-doers. The exposed property was a tempta- 
tion. There was a measure of responsibility on the 
part of the patriots for this exposure. It could be 
atoned for to some extent by assuming control of 
the property for the benefit of whom it might con- 
cern. This was evidently the spirit in which the 
committee of safety, May 3, 1775, instructed the 
quartermaster-general to pay the strictest attention 
that the household furniture of those persons who 
had taken refuge in the town of Boston might 
be properly secured, and disposed of in places of 
safety.^ 

^ Acts and Res. Prov. Mass, Bay, vol. v, p. 706 ; Journals of Each 
Prov. Cong, of Mass. in 1774 ^^d 1775, and of the Com. of Safety, 
etc., p. 634. 

In the note to chapter 38, Laws of 1776-77, vol. v., Acts and Res. 
Prov. Mass. Bay, Mr. Goodell has collated not only the legislation on 
this point, but also much material bearing upon it. He has per- 
formed for us the same service in connection with chapters 24, 48, 
and 49, Laws of 1778-79, in the same volume, which deal with the 
general subject at a later date. There is more of detail in these 
notes than can be produced here, but their examination will dis- 



28 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

The masterful tone and the revengeful spirit of 
the Confiscation Act are entirely wanting here, and 
yet the next step taken, even though it was more 
than a year before the Declaration of Independence, 
is characterized by an apparent confidence not alto- 
gether warranted by the military situation, a confi- 
dence which analysis shows to have been after all 
merely apparent. This time it was the provincial 
congress which spoke, and on the 22 d of May for- 
bade all persons in this " colony " taking any 
deed, lease, or conveyance of the lands, houses, 
or estates of the refugees/ The object of this was 
clear enough. Refugees would, if permitted, hasten 
to lodge their titles in the names of relatives or 
friends less objectionable to the provincial congress 
than themselves. It will be observed that the re- 
solve does not undertake to prevent refugees from 
making such conveyances, but simply forbids others 
to take them. In order to make such deeds effec- 
tive, the grantee must have been some person who 
could have access to the property. This was pos- 
sible at that time only for such as had given in their 
allegiance to the provincial congress ; hence the re- 
solve in this form probably served its purpose. 

Events had advanced far enough to stir up the 
more radical of the patriots to a desire for aggres- 
sive legislation, but not far enough to reheve the 

close how exhaustive they are, and how little is left for the student 
of the subject to do. 

1 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 706 ; Journals Prov. 
Cong., etc., p. 249. 



LEGISLATION 29 

apprehensions of the timid and the conservative 
among the legislators. The first armed collision 
had already taken place, but the lesson of confidence 
in the courage of the undisciplined volunteers throng- 
ing on Cambridge Common, soon to be learned at 
Bunker Hill, had not then been conveyed. There was 
nothing which should cause even the timid to hesi- 
tate in the passage of a resolve to which obedience 
was alone expected from those who had given in 
their fealty to the provincial congress. There was 
nothing in its wording which portended confiscation, 
yet this compulsory retention of titles in the names 
of the refugees must have had some such ulterior 
intention. 

Meanwhile, the committee of safety was in closer 
touch with current events bearing upon this property 
question than was the provincial congress. Com- 
plaints of the waste and destruction of the property 
of refugees poured in upon the committee in such 
numbers that on the 12th of June, 1775, they called 
the attention of the provincial congress to the sub- 
ject.^ How close was the touch and how trivial 
were some of the affairs with which the congress 
and the committee concerned themselves is shown 
by the recommendation to the committee made by 
the congress in consequence of that appeal. They 
were requested to have the grass cut on certain of 
the estates of refugees in Cambridge, Charlestown, 
Roxbury, and Milton, and to secure it in some con- 

* Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 706 ; Journals Prov. 
Cong., etc., p. 663. 



30 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

venient place for the benefit of the colony.^ Two 
committees were appointed by the congress, one to 
take care of estates of refugees, and one to take into 
consideration the property of persons who had left 
their habitations in sundry towns in the colony, and 
who had "discovered " themselves to be enemies to 
the colony and the continent.^ 

On the 21st of June, 1775, the provincial con- 
gress recommended the selectmen and the com- 
mittees of correspondence of towns where any of the 
property of refugees was to be found to take pos- 
session of such property and protect it from waste. 
They were to keep a record of the rents and profits 
which they should receive, and they were to account 
to the provincial congress or to the assembly of the 
colony for what they should collect, when thereto 
required.^ 

This important resolve lies at the base of all sub- 
sequent legislative action down to the passage of the 
Confiscation Act. The underlying principles are 
the same as those which were subsequently elaborated 
into the act to prevent the waste, destruction, and 
embezzlement of the property of refugees. All pro- 
perty of refugees was to be seized, and the rents and 
profits therefrom were to be accounted for to the 
government. 

^ Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 707 ; Journals Prov. 
Cong., etc., p. 322. 

2 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 707 ; Journals Prov. 
Cong., etc., p. 337 ; Report of Com. June 17, Journals Prov. Cong., 
etc., p. 348. 

8 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 707 ; Journals Prov. 
Cong., etc., pp. 368, 369. 



LEGISLATION 31 

The use in tliis connection of the descriptive title, 
" The Assembly of the Colony," calls attention to 
the legal theory under which the proceedings of the 
colonists had theretofore been conducted. There 
was of course no provision in the charter under 
which such a body as the provincial congress could 
have been organized. Its members were in revolt 
against the duly appointed representative of the 
Crown, but had not as yet thrown off allegiance to 
Great Britain, nor was the situation such that they 
could with confidence expect that their proceedings 
would eventuate in such a result. They bore the 
same relation to the Crown as did their ancestors 
when they seized and imprisoned Andros, and the 
name "Provincial Congress," which they adopted, 
was to a certain extent a misnomer, for the essence 
of a province was that it should have a governor 
appointed by the Crown. The elective body, which 
in the summer of 1775 was organized for legislative 
purposes through the instrumentahty of this con- 
gress, was styled an " Assembly of the Colony," and 
as such its first act was to legalize the doino-s of the 
"Provincial Congress of the Colony."^ 

The attitude taken in the resolve of June 21 
would seem to have been too bold for some of the 
legislators, for on the 8th of July they secured the 
passage of an explanatory resolve, to the effect 
that the resolve of June 21 was intended to ap- 
ply only to such "estates as are left unimproved 
and void of any occupant or possessor." Other 

1 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 415. 



32 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

estates ought not to be so treated until the refu- 
gees should be " regularly indicted and tried for 
their supposed offences." ^ The operation of the 
resolve differed from that produced by the one 
passed May 3, as follows : Instead of being re- 
stricted to the household furniture of those who 
"had taken refuge in Boston," it applied to all 
abandoned property in the province, and instead of 
the custody being turned over to the quartermas- 
ter-general, the property was intrusted to the care 
of the selectmen and committees of correspondence. 
The cause of these changes is obvious. To avoid 
insult and actual physical maltreatment, loyalists 
from all parts of the province had been compelled 
to seek safety in Boston. If, in so doing, they left 
behind them property without adequate provision 
for its care, it was plain that so narrow a description 
as " household furniture" might not cover aU cases. 
The appointment in the original resolve of the 
"quartermaster-general" as custodian was evidently 
a mere temporary makeshift. The transfer of the 
keepership of the seized property to the selectmen 
and committees of correspondence was a practical 
acknowledgment of responsibility, and indicated a 
recognition of the probable necessity for a more 
protracted custody and an acceptance of the self- 
imposed trust. 

Legislation with reference to abandoned property 
was permitted to rest in the condition laid down 

1 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 707; Journals Prov. 
Cong., etc., p. 476. 



LEGISLATION 33 

by the resolve of June 21, 1775, as amended by 
that of July 8 of the same year, for about ten 
months. The subject was, however, discussed from 
time to time in the legislative body represent- 
ing the people, whether congress or assembly, and 
the various propositions then introduced indicate 
that the representatives were becoming more and 
more aggressive. Thus, August 15, 1775, the house 
appointed a committee to examine the resolutions of 
the congress respecting refugees and report what 
was required to be done.^ Again, on the 9th of 
November, 1775, a resolve was passed in the same 
body empowering the selectmen and committees of 
correspondence, in towns where refugees had left 
estates both real and personal, to take care of the 
personal estate, and to sell stock which could not be 
kept on account of the scarcity of fodder; to take 
care of the produce of the farms; to keep an ac- 
count of their doings, and report to the court when 
required.^ The council amended this resolve in 
three ways : They wanted to have the control of 
the selectmen and committees limited to abandoned 
property ; they desired to have the report under 
oath ; and they wished to preserve a loophole for 
refugees who might have some explanation to give 
of their conduct. This they proposed to accomplish 
by defining the purpose of the required report to be 

^ Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 707 ; House Journal, 
p. 73. 

2 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 707; Home Journal, 
p. 254 ; Mass. Archives, vol. 207, No. 270. 



34 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

*' that justice may hereafter be done to the public 
as also to those individuals, when due inquiry can 
be made into their conduct." ^ 

Apparently these amendments were not accepta- 
ble to the house. The subject was again taken up 
by the representatives, January 5, 1776, and a com- 
mittee appointed to bring in a report.^ On the 8th, 
a resolve was submitted to the house.^ The hostihty 
of the refugees was set forth in the preamble in 
strong terms. They had left behind them estates 
liable to waste and perish, and in some instances had 
arranged to receive rents from their real estate and 
the proceeds of sales of their personal property. 

The selectmen and committees of correspondence 
of any town where such abandoned estates were 
situated were to take possession of the same ; to 
manage the real estate and dispose of the personal 
estate in such manner that no part of the rents or 
proceeds should get into the hands of the refugees. 
Proper accounts were to be kept for the information 
of the general court, when required. This resolve, 
like its predecessor, met with amendment in the 
council.* The most important of the changes sug- 

^ Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 708; where Mr. Goodell 
adds : " By the minutes upon the original resolve in the Archives, as 
well as by the recorded doings of the Council and House upon this 
resolve, on the 18th and 27th, it does not appear to have been passed, 
notwithstanding an entry to that effect in the so-called records of the 
General Court." 

2 House Journal, p. 119. 

' House Journal, pp. 127, 128. 

* For these amendments, see House Journal, January 11, 1776, 
p. 141. 



LEGISLATION 35 

gested seems to convey the idea that certain patriots 
fleeing from Boston had arranged with loyahsts 
who had fled to Boston for an exchange of pro- 
perty. The council proposed that after the clause 
requiring a report to the general court, there should 
be added the words " to whom they are to be ac- 
countable, provided always, that nothing in the 
foregoing resolve shall extend to such estates, real 
or personal, as are now improved by persons late 
inhabitants of the Town of Boston, who have given 
up their estates in said town to the owners of estates 
on which they now dwell." This amendment was 
not accepted by the representatives, and at this 
stage the proposed legislation was apparently ar- 
rested. 

On the 14th of February, 1776, the subject was 
again considered by the house. A resolve was re- 
ported, which was duly passed and sent up for con- 
currence.^ This resolve was in substance the same 
as that which had been passed by the house Janu- 
ary 8, but to the clause requiring the selectmen and 
the committees to report their doings to the court 
when required by that body, these words were added : 
" And unto whom they shall be accountable." There 
was also a proviso added, to the effect that the re- 
solve was not to be construed to include estates 
which had been conveyed to persons friendly to the 
colony prior to May 22, 1775, the date of the pas- 
sage of the resolve forbidding such conveyances. 

1 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. pp. 708, 709 ; House Jour- 
nal, p. 293. 



36 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

There is no record of the action taken by the coun- 
cil on this specific resolve, but it may be assumed 
that it failed of passage in that body. 

Meantime, the evacuation of Boston introduced a 
new set of problems, urgent in their nature and 
requiring immediate attention. The compulsory 
withdrawal of the English army and fleet not only 
affected military affairs, but the prestige gained by 
the Americans in consequence of this important 
success reacted upon the political situation. It is not 
strange, therefore, to find immediately after this 
event that thoughts of confiscation began to obtrude 
in the body from which all aggressive action had 
heretofore come. On the 19th of March, 1776, 
it was moved in the house that a list of the Bos- 
ton loyalists be made out, and an order was passed 
for the appointment of a committee to bring in a 
bni for the confiscation of the estates of persons 
who had aided the enemy.^ It would seem that 
the council was not ready for this step, for on the 
25th of March the general court appointed a com- 
mittee to repair to Boston and make an inventory 
of the real and personal property belonging to the 
mandamus councillors, commissioners of customs, 
and others, open and avowed enemies to the rights 
and liberties of America, who, through fear of the 
American arms and the just resentment of their 
injured countrymen, had departed the town of Bos- 
ton ; and report the same to the court as soon as may 

1 Ads and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1052 ; House Journal, 
p. 18. 



LEGISLATION 37 

be. Meantime they were to cause such effects to be 
secured, so as to prevent embezzlement.^ This com- 
mittee found unexpected obstacles in the way of 
securing possession of the property of refugees, and 
sought for and obtained on the 3d of April, 1776, 
an extension of their powers.^ The resolve under 
which this was granted recites that the court was 
informed that some of the estates of the refugees 
were then in the occupation and possession of per- 
sons who had clandestinely taken the same, and 
others were held under pretence of gift, sale, or 
attachment. To secure possession of these estates, 
the committee was authorized to examine under oath 
persons suspected of having in their possession 
estates of refugees, in the same manner as was per- 
mitted by the law governing estates of intestates. 
The committee was also authorized to take possession 
of property belonging to persons in Great Britain, 
the management of which was, by power of attor- 
ney, lodged in the hands of refugees. All of this 
without regard to legal proceedings instituted since 
April 19, 1775. 

On the 6th of April, justices of the peace were 
appointed to examine loyalists whose names were 
on the list.^ On the 8th of the same month, the 
house recurred to the question of confiscation, but 



1 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 709 ; p. 1064 ; House 
Journal, p. 37 ; p. 40 ; p. 41. 

2 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 709 ; House Journal, 
p. 75 ; Mass. Archives, vol. 208, No. 328. 

^ House Journal, pp. 88, 89. 



38 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

was then held in check by the council.^ On the 
9th, the house passed a resolve extending the pro- 
vision as to inventories of property of loyalists 
to all towns, and requiring committees of corre- 
spondence, safety, and inspection, aided by justices 
of the peace, to prepare lists of refugees.^ Having 
thus made provision for securing as far as possible 
the property in Boston abandoned by the refugees 
who accompanied the British army to Halifax, the 
house took up the resolve originally introduced 
February 14, and on the 19th of April, 1776, 
passed a resolve in which the council concurred on 
the 23d.2 

The preamble asserted that certain enemies of the 
colony, and others who had left the colony with 
intent to aid the enemy, had left behind them real 
and personal property subject to waste. The com- 
mittees of correspondence, safety, and inspection, in 
each town where there was property of this sort 
which the committee beheved was the property of 
such refugees, were instructed to take possession of 
the property, and to manage the estates according to 
their best judgment. They were to lease the real 
estate for one year ; to return an inventory of the 
personal property and a statement giving details as 
to leases. Estates occupied by persons friendly to 
the colony, under written conveyance dated prior to 

1 House Journal, p. 96. 

" Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1052 ; Mass. Archives, 
vol. 208, No. 357 ; House Journal, p. 104. 

3 ji^cts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 710 ; House Journal, 
pp. 153, 154. 



LEGISLATION 43 

might be available for this and the other United 
States.^ 

" The Act to prevent the waste, destruction and 
embezzlement of the goods or estates of such persons 
who have left the same, and fled to our enemies for 
protection, and also for payment of their just debts, 
out of their estates," was passed in April.^ This act 
authorized the judges of probate to appoint agents 
to take possession of the property of persons who 
had voluntarily fled to the enemy, leaving behind 
them estates amounting in value to twenty pounds 
or upwards. Judges of probate were authorized to 
allow the wife and family of the refugees bedding 
and household furniture, and could also assign to 
the wife the use and improvement of one third of 
the real estate during the absence of the husband. 

The agent was to sell the personal property and 
pay the debts of the refugee. If there was not 
enough personal property to meet the debts, then 
recourse could be had to the real estate. Except 
for the purpose of paying debts, he had no power to 
sell real estate. Where the estates were not insol- 
vent, the judge of probate could make allowances 
out of the rents and profits of the estate for the 
support of the absentee's family and servants. The 
agent was to pay over to the treasurer of the state 
any balance in his hands after paying the debts of 
the estate, and thereafter was to account to the judge 

1 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 711; Printed Resolves, 
ch. 131, p. 28 ; Mass. Archives, vol. 212, No. 213. 
^ Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 629 et seq. 



44 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

of probate by whom he was appointed. Thus mat- 
ters stood until the passage o£ the Confiscation Act. 
The flight of the refugee was treated as being equiv- 
alent to suicide. The agent appointed to take pos- 
session of the estate was given authority to manage 
the same " in as full and ample a manner as though 
the absent person was naturally dead and the said 
agent was appointed administrator of his or her 
estate." 

It is evidently the purpose of the act to give the 
agent control over the management of the real estate, 
but the limits of that control are only to be inferred. 
He is put in possession, and can receive the rents 
from leases made by committees under authority of 
the court. He can make repairs. Out of the rents 
and profits in his hands he can pay such sums as 
the court allows for the support of the family. The 
committees having charge of real estate were only 
authorized to lease for one year. Perhaps it is a 
fair inference that the agents' power in this respect 
was similarly restricted. September 19, 1778, collec- 
tors of taxes were stayed from proceeding against 
the unimproved estates of absentees.^ 

On the 16th of October, 1778, the power of 
judges of probate in the appointment of agents was 
extended. They were directed to exercise this power 
as soon as it should appear to them by information 
or otherwise that any persons had fled to the enemy 
for protection. The estates of refugees who had 
died since leaving home were not to be exempt, and 

* Printed Resolves, September session, 1778, res. 11, p. 38. 



LEGISLATION 45 

commissioners were to be appointed to examine 
claims against all estates, whether insolvent or not.^ 
The same act was further amended in February, 
1779, by the addition of a clause which empow- 
ered judges of probate to treat absentee executors 
and administrators as if dead. Appointments could 
be made of persons to fulfil the trusts which the 
absentees were unable to perform.^ 

Pursuant to the recommendation of Congress, the 
subject of confiscation was taken up by the general 
court in January, 1778. February 23,^ a confisca- 
tion act was reported, and a list of names of refugees 
was ordered to be prepared. This was under consid- 
eration for a protracted period, the details concerning 
which are given in the note to chapter 48, vol. v., 
in the Province Laws.* The passage on the 16th 
of October, 1778, of the act to prevent the return 
to this state of certain persons therein named, and 
others who have left this state or either of the 
United States and joined the enemies thereof, would 
seem to have been the immediate outcome of this 
discussion.^ 

The state at this time had possession of practically 
all the property of the refugees. The personal 
property had been disposed of under authority. The 
real estate was still under the management of the 
agents who had been put in charge of it. Difficul- 

^ Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. pp. 910, 911, 
2 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 931. 
8 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1053. 
* Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1052 et seq. 
^ Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 912. 



46 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

ties of various sorts turned up, most of which were 
met by legislation, general in character, hut calcu- 
lated to meet the emergency which called it into 
being. The spring of 1779 was fertile with such 
legislation. 

February 19, 1779, agents who had not made 
returns of inventories were ordered to do so imme- 
diately. They were also required to make up their 
accounts with all possible expedition, and, after 
deducting such allowance to the wife, widow, or 
family as the judge of probate might have approved, 
to pay over the balance to the treasurer of the 
state.^ The same day another resolve was passed 
instructing agents to lease for circulating currency 
the real estate on one year leases.^ The property of 
subjects of Great Britain who had not resided in 
this state was, by resolves of date of February 20 
and April 19, ordered to be turned over to the 
agents.^ A special resolve was passed May 1, pro- 
viding for the ejectment of persons improperly 
holding possession of the property of refugees,'* and 
resolves were passed May 1 and May 3 to meet the 
cases arising from delinquent agents.^ 

This review of special legislation of a general 
character at this period has carried us beyond the 
date of the passage of the two confiscation acts in 
which all of this legislation may be said to have 

1 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1000. 

2 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1000. 

3 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. pp. 1000, 1001. 
* Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1002. 

5 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1002. 



LEGISLATION 47 

culminated. April 30, 1779, two bills were passed, 
the one directed against the estates of mandamus 
councillors, commissioners of customs, and certain 
other royal officeholders, and the other against the 
estates of refugees in general. In the former the 
estates of the named persons were confiscated with- 
out hearing. In the general confiscation act there 
were detailed provisions for the mode of trial under 
which the estates should be confiscated. Personal 
service or the ordinary substitutes lay at the base of 
the action, and a jury was required even in case of 
default. In both acts provision was made for setting 
aside dower for the wife or widow of the refuo-ee, 
out of the estate. In the proceedings under the 
Confiscation Act the result was simply that posses- 
sion in behalf of the commonwealth was given to 
an agent appointed for that purpose. No provision 
was made in the act by means of which the agent 
could pay debts. 

On the 19th of June, 1780, a committee was ap- 
pointed by resolve who were authorized to borrow 
money for the use of the state, and as security for 
the loans they could put lenders in possession of the 
real property of absentees.^ 

November 29, 1780, a resolve was passed for sell- 
ing at public auction the estates and effects of 
absentees.^ The proceeds were to be paid into the 
treasury. 

December 4, 1780, the Confiscation Act was 

1 Resolves of Mass. 1780, res. 83, pp. 35, 36. 

2 Laws and Res, of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 95, p. 183. 



48 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

amended.^ The requirement of a jury where there 
was no contest was dispensed with, and instead of the 
notification to the absentee set forth in the act as a 
basis for the proceedings in court, notice by publi- 
cation in newspapers was substituted. The personal 
service required in the original act on absentees who 
were by law prohibited from entering Massachusetts 
was of course a legal farce and an absurd proposi- 
tion, nor was it much improved by having a notice 
left at the last and usual abode of the absentee, 
nor by j)Osting it on the premises. Such absentee 
had, under the circumstances, no recognized interest 
in the proceedings, and his family had no claim 
except through him. Only those were legally inter- 
ested who might claim through some conveyance or 
contract which the courts would recognize as valid, 
and as these might not be known, publication was 
clearly the best way to reach them. 

At the time of the passage of this act, the confis- 
cation suits in the Chandler case were ripe for judg- 
ment. Taking advantage of the provision which 
dispenses with the jury requirement, the court, which 
met December 12, 1780, at once proceeded to enter 
up judgment in the pending cases. It was soon 
discovered that the act which had made it possible 

^ Laws and Resolves of Mass. 1780-81 : An Act in addition to 
and for the alteration of some of the provisions of an Act, etc., 
eh. 48, p. 113. For my citations of much of the subsequent legisla- 
tion I have used the reprint of the laws now in progress, the title 
being the binders' title. This is sometimes misleading, since the 
years which govern it are session years, and the fall session often 
overlapped the calendar year. 



LEGISLATION 49 

to get along without a jury had also upset the ser- 
vice of the writs upon which these cases were based. 
To remedy this, a special act was passed January 
18, 1781, legalizing the proceedings in these suits/ 

The committees and agents were instructed Feb- 
ruary 2, 1781, not to lease property of absentees ; '^ 
but on the 3d of March, 1781, they were authorized 
to lease for one year, if they thought it was for the 
interest of the government.^ 

The act to provide for the payment of the debts 
due from conspirators was amended May 1, 1781. 
Committees appointed to sell the estates of absentees 
were authorized to sell at private sale to persons who 
had advanced money to the commonwealth, under 
the resolve of June 19, 1780, the estates then turned 
over to them as security, provided the creditor of 
the commonwealth made application for that pur- 
pose and was willing to take the estate at the ap- 
praised value designated by a committee appointed 
for the purpose.* 

The action taken in this last act is pecuHar, and 
not altogether consistent with what had just taken 
place, for on the 2d of March the legislature had 
formally passed an act to provide for the payment of 
debts due from conspirators and absentees and for 
the recovery of debts due to them, in which act they 

^ Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 49, p. 114. 

2 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch, 65, p. 254 ; Res. of Mass. 
1781, res. 65, p. 79. 

8 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 196, p. 335 ; Res. of Mass. 
1781, res. 196, p. 129. 

* Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 52, p. 122. 



50 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

had appointed committees to sell the estates and pay 
the debts.^ The claims were to be examined by the 
committees formerly appointed by the judges of pro- 
bate. The sales were to be conducted as in the case 
of intestates. The committees for the several coun- 
ties were named in the act, and were authorized to 
sell the estates, pay the debts, and pay over what 
was left to the treasurer of the state. Money paid 
to the treasurer could be reached by warrants issued 
on certificates of probate judges. John Fessenden, 
Caleb Ammidon, and Jonathan Warner were ap- 
pointed for Worcester County. On the 15th of 
May, 1781, knowledge having been acquired that 
there were persons in possession of real estate of 
absentees who did not pay rent and others having 
personal property illegally in possession, a resolve 
was passed directing the committees appointed to sell 
confiscated estates in the several counties to make 
inquiries on these points, and report thereon.^ The 
same day an act was passed directing commissioners 
to reject all claims originating from conspirators or 
absentees and extending the time for proving claims 
against the estates, and, in order to expedite pay- 
ments, authorizing payment in full to creditors who 
would give an indemnity bond to refund jyro rata 
in case the proceeds of sales should be inadequate to 
meet all claims.^ 

The committees of the several counties within the 

1 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 50, pp. 115 et seq. 

2 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 176, p. 460. 

3 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 53, pp. 123-125. 



LEGISLATION 51 

commonwealth, appointed to dispose of confiscated 
estates, were on the 11th of February, 1782, in- 
structed to receive in payment the securities given 
to officers and soldiers.^ March 7, 1782, the com- 
mittees for the sale of estates of absentees were 
authorized to lease the said estates for the ensuing 
year.^ 

On the 8th of March, 1782, in order that persons 
might be protected who had been prevented by good 
reasons from prosecuting their claims against the 
estates of absentees, a resolve was passed, author- 
izing judges of probate to renew for three months 
the commissions of those previously appointed to 
examine claims. The commissioners thus reap- 
pointed, or others in their place, were instructed to 
reexamine claims.^ On the 15th day of June, 1782, 
an amendment was passed to the act to provide for 
the payment of debts due from conspirators and 
absentees, the purpose of which was to relieve the 
commonwealth from the embarrassment caused by 
the exemption from the operation of the original 
act of estates put in the hands of persons who had 
advanced money under the resolve of June 19, 1780. 
Committees were authorized to sell to lessees at an 
appraised value, or to others at public or private sale 
if the lessee refused to take the property on those 
terms. In cases where the proceeds of sales were 
inadequate to pay debts, committees were empowered 

1 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 403, p. 846. 

2 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 524, p. 925. 

3 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 514, pp. 919-921. 



52 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

to divide such proceeds among creditors pro rata, 
taking bonds for the repayment of the creditor's 
ratable proportion.^ If it be borne in mind that 
the agents had been called upon to remit to the 
state treasurer, the character of the task of deter- 
mining the solvency of the estates thus imposed 
upon the committees will be better appreciated. In 
the Chandler case, several of the claims were paid 
by warrants drawn on the treasurer. 

Various resolves were passed in the summer of 
1782, the purpose of which was to stimulate the 
settlement of estates of absentees.^ 

It would seem that the comphcated state of affairs 
brought about by the great variety of legislation 
bearing upon the settlement of the estates of absen- 
tees carried with it the penalty of suits against agents 
and committees in such numbers that the legislature 
was oblio:ed to come to their defence. This was 
done by the passage, March 13, 1783, of an act 
empowering agents and members of committees in 
certain cases to plead the general issue and give 
the acts and resolves of the general court and any 
special matter in evidence.^ 

At the time of the passage of this last act it 
was known in this country that George III. had 
announced at the opening of Parhament that a pre- 

1 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1782-83, ch. 69, pp. 177-179. 

2 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1782-83, ch. 88, p. 232, June 29, 1782; 
ch. 85, p. 229, July 1, 1782 ; ch. 113, p. 245, July 4, 1782; October 
21, 1782, a resolve was passed containing unimportant instructions to 
committees, ch. 76, p. 308. 

3 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1782-83, ch. 70, p. 179. 



LEGISLATION 53 

liminaiy treaty of peace had been signed between 
Great Britain and the United States. The pro- 
visional treaty, conchided in November, 1782, had 
at last become operative through the signing in Jan- 
uary, 1783, of the preliminary treaties of peace be- 
tween Great Britain and France and Spain. The 
fifth article in the provisional treaty provided that 
Congress should recommend to the several States the 
revision of the laws against refugees, " so as to ren- 
der the said laws or acts perfectly consistent, not 
only with justice and equity, but with that spirit of 
conciliation which, on the return of the blessings of 
peace, should universally prevail." The first step 
taken by the legislature of Massachusetts in this 
" spirit of conciliation " was the passage, on the 2d 
of July, 1783, of an act to carry into execution an 
act made in the year one thousand seven hundred 
and seventy-eight, entitled an act to prevent the 
return of certain persons therein named. It was 
prescribed in the " act to prevent the return " that 
the Board of War should deport absentees who 
should venture to return to the state. That body, it 
was stated, was now discontinued. It was therefore 
provided that cases arising for consideration under 
that act should be examined by two justices of the 
peace, whose decision was to be certified to the gov- 
ernor. It was made the duty of the governor to 
cause violators of the law to be deported, and it was 
provided that a second return of the refugees was 
to be met with the penalty prescribed in the original 
act, which was death. Replevin suits could not be 



54 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

maintained in behalf of persons arrested under this 
act. Service of writs in such suits was declared to 
be void, and the officer making service not only 
became subject to a fine of ^100, but was by the 
very act of making the service incapacitated from 
making further legal service of papers. This act 
was to remain in force until the recommendation of 
Congress should be laid before the court, and a final 
determination thereon should be had.^ 

March 18, 1783, committees were authorized to 
lease for one year.^ 

June 5, the committee intrusted with the settle- 
ment of the accounts of committees on absentees' 
estates was instructed to require final settlements 
and to have balances paid over.^ 

On the 4th of October a resolve was passed in- 
structing committees appointed to make sale of the 
estates of absentees "to surcease the sale of the 
said estates until the further order of the general 
court." ^ 

The definitive Treaty of Peace, executed at Paris 
in September, 1783, was ratified and confirmed by 
Congress January 14, 1784, and a broadside was 
thereupon issued, calHng upon all good citizens and 
all bodies of magistracy, legislative, executive, and 
judiciary, to observe its terms and carry into effect 
its definitive articles. The fifth and sixth articles 
of the treaty were similar to those bearing the same 

1 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1782-83, p. 499. 

2 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1782-83, ch. 175, p. 458. 
8 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1782-83, ch. 10, p. 680. 
* Laws and Res. of Mass. 1782-83, ch. 14, p. 783. 



LEGISLATION 55 

numbers in the provisional treaty. The former o£ 
these articles has been already alluded to. The 
latter provided that there should be no more confis- 
cations of the property of loyalists and no more 
prosecutions by reason of the part taken by them 
in the war. What legislation follows was carried 
through with a full knowledge of the character of 
the recommendations of Congress which were re- 
ferred to as impending in the last paragraph of the 
act of July 2. 

The first step taken by the legislature after it 
was furnished with knowledge of these recommenda- 
tions was to put forth efforts to close up the estates 
of absentees. March 16, 1784, registers of probate 
were ordered to return to the secretary's office before 
June 10 all accounts rendered by agents of such 
estates. If any agent had failed to render his ac- 
counts, registers were instructed to bring suit on his 
bond. Committees having absentees' estates in their 
hands were ordered to make a return to the secre- 
tary. He in turn was to report to the attorney- 
general if any committees were delinquent in this 
respect, and it was made the duty of the attorney- 
general to prosecute such delinquents. It was at 
the same time provided that there should be no 
further sale of estates of absentees, either as a whole 
or in part, until the further order of the general 
court.^ 

The first act passed in which the obligations of 
the treaty were distinctly recognized was the " Act 

^ Laws and Res. of Mass. 1782-83, ch. 132, p. 873. 



56 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

for repealing two laws of this state, and for assert- 
ing the right of this free and sovereign common- 
wealth, to expel such aliens as may be dangerous to 
the peace and good order of government." This 
act became a law March 24, 1784.^ 

The preamble asserted that it was the undoubted 
right of the state to expel such aliens as were pos- 
sessed of dispositions incompatible with the safety 
or sovereignty of the state. It is quite possible that 
in the more liberal spirit of to-day we should be in- 
clined to assert our right to expel from the country 
those whose presence threatened the safety of the 
state, but our sympathy with the alleged principle 
on which the act was based would probably stop at 
this point, for what was meant by it was more speci- 
fically defined in the next sentence, in which absen- 
tees were pronounced to be aliens. Alas, for the 
hoped-for spirit of conciliation. All those who had 
borne arms against the state or lent money to Great 
Britain, and all those who were named in the Confis- 
cation Act, were designated as aHens, and as such 
ouo^ht to be excluded from the state. The admis- 
sion even of others of this class was declared to be 
full of danger to the state, but under the circum- 
stances it was thought that the present laws for their 
exclusion were not calculated to produce peace and 
tranquillity. Therefore the act to prevent the re- 
turn of certain persons therein named, and the act 
to carry that act into execution, the former of the 
year 1779, the latter of 1783, were both repealed. 

1 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1782-83, p. 661. 



LEGISLATION 57 

This of course threw the bars down and let in every- 
body, but to make it clear that the spirit of con- 
ciliation in which the legislature complied with the 
recommendation of Congress did not go far enough 
to permit the more odious of the loyalists to stay in 
the commonwealth after they had got there, it was 
then provided that absentees named in the Confisca- 
tion Act, or who had borne arms against the coun- 
try in the late war, who should return to the state 
with the intent to reside therein, should be reported 
by justices of the peace to the governor, and if they 
did not immediately depart from the state when 
thereto ordered by the governor, they were to be 
committed to jail. 

Absentees of other descriptions than the above 
were required to take out licenses from the governor, 
which licenses should run only from the end of one 
general court to the end of the next. 

The sixth article of the treaty, which provides that 
there should be no more confiscations, was recognized, 
and it was provided that lands held by claimants 
April 19, 1775, which had not been confiscated, 
should be restored unless they were pledged for the 
payment of debts due from absentees. From the 
benefit of this provision, however, those named in 
the Confiscation Act were excluded, or rather it would 
be nearer the fact to say that an attempt was made 
to exclude them. This was done by referring to 
the Confiscation Act as the " Act of 1778," an error 
of date which compelled subsequent legislation by 
way of correction. 



58 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

On the 2d of July, 1784, it was ordered that con- 
fiscated estates should be sold by auction for pub- 
lic securities. From this order estates which were 
insolvent were excepted.^ It was evident that the 
titles to the confiscated estates acquired by the pur- 
chasers at the auction sales were assailed, for on the 
28th of October, 1784, a resolve was passed direct- 
ing the attorney-general to appear and defend the 
titles of confiscated estates.^ 

It has been mentioned that corrective legislation 
was needed to cure the hasty and erroneous descrip- 
tion of the Confiscation Act in the act just above 
described. This was accomplished November 10, 
1784, by an act in addition to the former act, in 
which it was also provided that, where real estate of 
absentees had been mortgaged by the government, 
the equity of redemption should be regarded as 
having been confiscated. In the case of property 
leased by the government, the rentals were deemed 
to have been confiscated, but the claimant could de- 
mand the property at the termination of the lease. 
It was also provided in the same act that all acts of 
agents or committees in connection with real estate 
of absentees or of real British subjects, where the 
real estates had not been confiscated, if such acts 
were done according to law, should be good and 
vaHd. Personal estates of absentees, sold or used, 
were to be deemed confiscated. No action was to lie 

1 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1784-85, ch. 58, p. 234. 

2 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1784-85, ch. 25, p. 272. 



LEGISLATION 59 

against an agent. If sued, he might plead the gen- 
eral issue and give this act in evidence.^ 

The same day a letter was addressed to the dele- 
gates to Congress, in which they were instructed to 
ascertain whether it would consist with the treaty 
for the legislature to debar British subjects and ab- 
sentees from recovering interest during the war. 
What did the expression used in the treaty, " hona- 
fide debt," mean ? Ought it to include interest 
during the war ? 

These questions arose under the fourth article 
of the treaty, which provided that no lawful imped- 
iment should be imposed to the recovery of debts 
theretofore contracted. Pending an answer which 
should furnish the congressional interpretation of 
the treaty, actions for interest were suspended until 
the next session of the legislature.^ When that 
event took place, the reply of Congress to these 
questions was still in abeyance. A resolve was there- 
fore passed on the 7th of February, 1785, continu- 
ing the resolve of November 10 in force until the 
further order of the general court.^ 

Whether that order has ever been made can be 
determined by search of the records, if any person 
should deem it worth while. 

1 Laws 1784-85, chap. 31 — 1784, p. 105. 

2 Laws and Res. of Mass. 178^-85, ^p. 300, 301. 

3 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1784-85, p. 338. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE VALUE OF THE ESTATE 

Among the papers in the probate files are two 
appraisals of the real estate made at different times. 
Under the instructions given to the appraisers, these 
returns were made in " lawful money." The second 
of these appraisals is more than double the first, a 
condition of affairs which compels investigation as 
to its meaning. As if to help us, a third valuation 
of the real estate, at a still earlier date, is to be 
found in the London transcripts. This was made in 
sterling by Chandler himself, and was corroborated 
by the affidavits of several persons familiar with 
the value of the different parcels of land mentioned 
in the schedule. By the term " lawful money," the 
currency in use in New England was meant, the par 
value of which was six shillings to the Spanish dol- 
lar, or piece of eight, of seventeen pennyweight. In 
order to compare Chandler's valuations with those 
of the local appraisers, one must add thirty-three 
and one third per cent., the Spanish dollar being 
rated at 4s. 6d. in sterling, about that time. We 
can easily identify the farms, wood-lots, and pastures 
in the several inventories, and if we place them side 
by side, and convert Chandler's values into " lawful 



THE VALUE OF THE ESTATE 



61 



money," we shall have three appraisals of the real 
estate, all nominally in money of the same standard : 
one by Chandler giving the values in 1774 ; one by 
local appraisers in 1778 ; and the third also by local 
appraisers in 1779.^ The differences of the apprais- 
als will be better appreciated if presented in tabular 
form, and in order that we may condense the table, 
it will be well to dispense with shilHngs and pence 
and take the nearest pound. 





Property. 


Chandler's Schedule. 


Appraisers' Valuation. 


Acres 

from 

Chandler. 


1774. 


1774. 


1778. 

Lawful 
Money. 


1779. 




Sterling. 


Lawful 
Money. 


Lawful 
Money. 


Lawful 
Money. 


H 

180| 

17| 

m 

70| 

256 J 
50 J 
203 
322 
|200 


Mansion House . . 
Mill Farm .... 
Mill Stone Hill wood- 
lot 

Cedar Swamp . , 
Tertnuck Pasture . 
Worcester Pasture . 

Uptown Farm . . 

Downtown Farm 
Chestnut Hill Farm . 
f Charlton Farm . 

Pews 

Royalston .... 
Hampshire County . 
Leominster , . , 


750 
1,500 

52 
165 
248 
133 

1,280 ) 
160 5 

1,800 

1,130 

400 

65 

474 

2,305 


1,000 
2,000 

70 
220 
331 
176 

1,707 i 
213) 

2,400 

1,507 

533 

87 

632 

3,073 


2,530 


2,500 
4,000 

80 
500 
260 

5,500 

6,500 
3,500 
2,000 
200 
1,100 
8,696 
1,000 


5,000 
12,000 

255 

120 

1,200 

800 

15,000 

17,700 
10,000 
3,000 
400 
1,270 
8,770 
1,000 




10,462 


13,949 




35,836 


76,515 



* Dr, Chandler, in his Chandler Family, in treating of Colonel 
Chandler, introduced as an item in the 1779 inventory the total of 
the real estate. This error has been copied by other writers, and the 
conception of Chandler's wealth has been thereby greatly magnified. 



62 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

The appraisers' valuations are taken from the 
documents on file in the probate court. Chandler's 
schedule accompanied a petition to the commission- 
ers appointed to investigate the claims of American 
loyalists, and is taken from the papers in the Public 
Record Office, London. 

We have here a scale of valuation ascending as 
time progresses. The basis of the valuation fixed 
by Chandler and his friends, and also that of the 
1774 appraisal of the Hampshire County appraisers, 
is undoubtedly silver coin, in the former case ster- 
ling, in the latter New England money. If silver 
coin is also the basis of the later valuations, we 
have here evidence of a condition of prosperity in 
Massachusetts utterly at variance with our precon- 
ceived notions of the distress caused by the grievous 
burden of war taxes, and totally inconsistent with 
the language used by the selectmen of Worcester 
in their petition to the general court for a reduction 
of the town's taxes in November, 1779.^ As a mat- 
ter of fact, it cannot be supposed for a moment that 
there was any general appreciation of the actual 
value of property in Massachusetts at that time. It 
follows, therefore, that the appraisers, in estimating 
the values which they stated in "lawful money," 
must have made use of a standard which was sub- 
ject to fluctuations.^ 

1 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1250. 

2 Lawful money, according to its strict definition, ought not to 
have fluctuated. Yet we find Governor Trumbull of Connecticut 
saying in November, 1779 : " Their prices of 2/ & 1/6 as heretofore 
fixed, I understand to be in L. money, agreeable to its value in 1774." 
Mass. Hist. Coll., 7th ser. vol. ii. p. 451. 



THE VALUE OF THE ESTATE 63 

Was there any other definition of lawful money 
to be derived from the statutes, which would have 
justified the use by the appraisers of the phrase in 
their inventories, and which would have applied to a 
circulating medium the depreciation of which would 
correspond with the advance of the appraisals ? It 
would seem as if the answer to the several points 
covered by this question ought to be revealed by an 
examination of the currency emissions of Massachu- 
setts, a study of the scale of depreciation of the cur- 
rency then in circulation, and a determination of the 
ratio of the advance made by the appraisers. If 
these should fail to solve the riddle, still they may 
be profitable through their negative results. 

The first paper money put forth by Massachusetts 
at that time was in August, 1775. Bills of credit 
to the amount of so much lawful money were ordered 
to be prepared, and on the face of the bills it was 
simply stated that the possessor should be paid so 
much lawful money by a given date. It was pro- 
vided that the bills should be received at the treasury 
and in all payments at their stated denominational 
value, and a penalty was prescribed for receiving or 
paying them at a discount. They were, therefore, 
practically declared to be not only lawful money but 
legal tenders. Shortly thereafter bills of the United 
States were put on a par with them by giving the 
former also the legal tender function, an attribute 
which they retained until the passage in 1780 of the 
act in which the official scale of depreciation was 
adopted. 



64 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Meantime the colony, and afterwards the state, 
had from time to time emitted bills of credit bearing 
upon their face the term " lawful money," and had 
also concurrently borrowed large sums of money on 
the treasurer's interest-bearing notes. Beginning 
with December, 1776, the practice of emitting trea- 
surer's notes exclusively to lenders of bills of credit 
was abandoned, and the policy was inaugurated of 
issuing interest-bearing notes to meet the current 
oblisrations of the state. After that month, no more 
lawful money bills of credit were emitted. Conti- 
nental money and interest-bearing treasurer's notes 
usurped their place, and the policy of withdrawing 
the bills of credit altogether came under discussion. 
In September, 1777, the treasurer was ordered not 
to pay out bills of credit except those under six shil- 
lings in denomination.^ 

This was intended as a serious blow to the circu- 
lation of the bills, since the greater part of those 
which had been emitted were of the denomination 
of six shillings or upwards. In October, 1777, all 
bills for six shillings and upwards were called in 
for exchange for treasurer's interest-bearing notes. 
Various dates were from time to time assigned, be- 
yond which the lawful money bills of credit were 
not to be permitted to circulate, the last apparently 
being August, 1779. Before this date was reached, 
in June, 1779, nearly all of them were burned in the 
presence of a committee of the general court.^ 

^ Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 815. 
2 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 822. 



THE VALUE OF THE ESTATE 65 

The exchange of these bills for treasury notes 
was apparently ordered to be made at par, showing 
that the lawful money bills and the interest-bearing 
notes had up to that time shared the same depre- 
ciation. Inasmuch as the continental bills were 
specifically recognized by legislation as being upon 
an equahty with the state bills of credit in the legal 
tender function as late as May, 1777, soon after 
which they became the recognized measures of 
value, it is probable that the scale of depreciation 
applies to all three of these classes of currency, up 
to the time when the actual withdrawal of the law- 
ful money bills prevented their further consideration 
in connection with questions of discount. 

The treasurer's notes find no special mention in 
the legislation bearing upon the question of depre- 
ciation, but there is every indication that they con- 
tinued to parallel the course of the continental bills 
in their downward career, although at first it was 
evidently thought that they would not add to the 
circulating mediiun. They were of large denomina- 
tions ; they were for short terms, and they bore in- 
terest. It was thought that capitalists would select 
them for their cash balances, but it was not realized 
that this would release for circulation other notes or 
bills of the same value. 

After the general court, in October, 1777, passed 
the act retiring the lawful money bills, they received 
remonstrances from many parts of the state. In 
reply to these the representatives in December of 
the same year issued an address to the people in 



66 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

which they argued that this step was of great ad- 
vantage because it left but one species of currency, 
the continental. They said that there was a neces- 
sity for calhng in their own currency — referring 
thereby to the lawful money bills — in the speediest 
manner. The good effects of calling in the bills, 
they added, " are already obvious in many respects, 
and nothing seems wanting but perseverance to reap 
the real benefit of it." ^ 

We have seen that some of these lawful money 
bills continued in circulation until the summer of 
1779, but it is a fair inference from what the repre- 
sentatives said in December, 1777, that they were 
then retired in such numbers as to afford actual re- 
lief to the situation. It is improbable that the lim- 
ited number which continued to circulate could have 
been distinguished in any way from the currency 
upon which the community depended for a medium 
of trade. 

We have an official schedule of depreciation 
adopted by the general court in 1780,^ which by its 
terms applies only to United States bills of credit. 
Continental bills were then the measure of value 
adopted in the tax acts for use by the assessors, and 
collectors were ordered to receive them in payment 
for taxes.^ In this scale, the time at which the depre- 
ciation was first legally recognized was fixed at Janu- 
ary, 1777. One hundred doUars in coin were said, 

1 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. pp. 818-820. 

2 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1412 et seq. 
8 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1035. 



THE VALUE OF THE ESTATE 67 

in the scale, to have been worth at that time one 
hundred and five in bills. By January, 1778, the 
hundred and five had become three hundred and 
twenty-five. In 1779, seven hundred and forty-two 
dollars in bills were required to purchase one hun- 
dred in coin, while at the corresponding date in 
1780, so rapid had been the advance of the price 
of gold that two thousand nine hundred and thirty- 
four dollars in bills were then required to effect 
the same purchase. 

Let us now turn to our tabular statement of the 
values set upon the estate in the various returns at 
our command. It will be seen at a glance that every 
item in the schedule submitted by Chandler shares 
in the advance, with the exception of the Cedar 
Swamp lot. The value of this was, probably, vested 
in standing timber. It is not unlikely that the lower 
valuation given by the appraisers in the later ap- 
praisals was due to the fact that the timber had been 
in the mean time felled. The schedule of 1778 does 
not contain the Millstone Hill wood-lot, and Chan- 
dler's schedule does not contain the Leominster land, 
but setting aside these omissions, the total valuation 
of the 1778 appraisal is about two and one half 
times Chandler's valuation, while the 1779 appraisal 
is about five and one haK times as great as Chan- 
dler's. The mansion house was in 1778 set down 
as worth exactly two and one half times what it was 
in 1774, and in 1779 had doubled the 1778 valua- 
tion. The Mill farm had doubled its value in 1778, 
and was worth six times the original valuation in 



68 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

1779. The Uptown farm had increased in value 
nearly twofold in 1778, and in 1779 was rated over 
five times as high as in 1774. 

These examples are selected because they repre- 
sent the most salable of the property. It will be 
seen that they do not correspond with each other 
suf&ciently to deduce from them any specific rates 
of advance, but taken in connection with the rest of 
the table, they indicate a nominal rise in value of 
about threefold in 1778, and of from six to seven 
fold in 1779. These appraisals were made in the 
fall of 1778 and in December, 1779, and if we 
could head the column in the table January, 1778, 
and January, 1779, we might consider the problem 
solved, for at these dates three hundred and twenty- 
five and seven hundred and forty-two dollars in bills, 
respectively, were equivalent to one hundred dollars 
in coin. In December, 1779, when we find the ratio 
of the appraisals about seven for one, the scale of 
depreciation shows nearly twenty-six for one. 

It is evident that the appraisers did not use silver 
at par as the basis of their valuation. It is equally 
clear, if the appraisals are correctly dated, and if 
Chandler's estimate of values can be accepted as 
even approximately correct, that the changes in the 
valuations made by the appraisers did not correspond 
with those of the bills named in or covered by the 
scale of depreciation. It is certain that during the 
period that the " lawful money " bills of credit were 
in circulation, these bills, even if discredited, would 
have come within the statutory definition of lawful 



THE VALUE OF THE ESTATE 69 

money. The withdrawal of nearly all of them from 
circulation must have made it impracticable to de- 
termine their discount at any given time after the 
withdrawal began, and thus takes away from our 
consideration the only form of paper money which 
might have given us the key with which to solve 
this puzzle. Up to a certain point in the progress 
of the discount of the paper money, we might have 
been compelled to consider whether the silver in cir- 
culation might not have paralleled the paper money 
in its decline. We know that in 1705 the piece of 
eight " of scarce fifteen pennyweight " passed for 
six shilHngs. It must have been true, however, that 
long before the first of the local appraisals was 
made, the discount of the paper money had become 
too great for even light weight and clipped coins to 
remain in circulation. 

If we cannot reconcile these valuations with 
any theory as to the " currency " or the " lawful 
money " based upon the facts as we know them, we 
can only arrive at arbitrary conclusions, resting not 
so much upon what our study has actually disclosed 
as upon inferences that appear to be unavoidable. 
It seems to me that the returns of the appraisers 
were intended to be made in terms of the currency 
then in circulation. If such was the case, then the 
estate must have been greatly undervalued by the 
local appraisers. The author of the note entitled 
" The Loyalists and their Fortunes," in volume vii. 
of Winsor's " Narrative and Critical History of 
America," says in a note (page 212), " They [the loy- 



70 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

alists] complained of trickery, fraud, and gross in- 
justice practiced towards them here. The real value 
of their property was underestimated in the sworn 
invoices sent to them." The inventories referred to 
herein were not sworn invoices sent to Chandler. 
They were returns to the judge of probate, but 
some of the motives which would have led to an 
underestimate in a statement to be used in England 
might have influenced these appraisers in their re- 
turns. At all events, if the appraisers made use of 
the currency which then constituted the circulating 
medium of the state, and if the alleged dates of the 
appraisals are correct, the real estate was greatly 
undervalued. 



CHAPTER V 

THE PAPERS OF THE PROBATE FILES ANALYZED 

The papers and records of this case may be clas- 
sified under four heads : the probate files at Worces- 
ter ; the records of the Inferiour Court of Common 
Pleas, at Worcester ; the papers in the Massachu- 
setts Archives ; and the documents in London, called 
herein the London transcripts. 

The first in the series in the probate files at 
Worcester is dated April 18, 1777, and is a certifi- 
cate addressed to the judge of probate, and signed 
in behalf of the committee of correspondence of 
the town by its chairman, to the effect that John 
Chandler and certain other persons had fled to the 
enemy.^ This document was prepared under section 
one of the act to prevent the waste, destruction, 
and embezzlement of the goods or estates of refu- 
gees,^ and conforms to the requisites of the act in 
setting forth a state of circumstances which would 
give the judge of probate jurisdiction, provided he 
did not insist upon a technical compliance with the 
language of the act. 

The certificate was in the following language : — 

1 See Appendix for copies of the papers referred to. 

2 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol, v. p. 629 et seq. 



72 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Worcester, April 18, 1777. 
To tlie Honorable Levi Lincoln, Esq' Judge of Pro- 
bate for the County of Worcester. 
The Committee of Correspondence, Inspection & 
Safety for this Town, would inform your Honor, 
that Agreeable to a late act of the Great and Gen- 
eral Court of this State, to prevent waste, destruc- 
tion, or embezzlement of the Estates of those 
persons who have left them & fled to the enemy and 
as by said act information must come to the Judge 
from the Selectmen or Committees of said Towns 
where said Estates are . . . The Committee for this 
Town in conformity to said Act would inform your 
Honor, that John Chandler, Esqr. has absented him- 
self, leaving a wife & family, that James Putnam, 
Esqr. has absented himself, with his whole family 
excepting one negro man. . . . That Rufus Chan- 
dler has absented himself with his wife leaving one 
child. . . . That Doctr. William Paine has absented 
himself & since sent for his wife leaving one child, 
... all which persons except Mrs. Paine have been 
absent more than three months & said Committee 
verily believe have fled to the enemy. By order of 
the Committee of Correspondence &c for Worces- 
ter. 

John Cunningham, Chairman. 

The section of the act under which this certificate 
is drawn requires the certificate to be under the 
hands of the major part of the selectmen or com- 
mittee of correspondence, etc., authorized to make 



THE PROBATE FILES - 73 

it, and the law also demands that the officers mak- 
ing it should set forth : 1st, that the refugee was 
an inhabitant of their town ; 2d, that he had been 
absent for three months or upwards ; 3d, that he 
left real or personal estate, within the state, to the 
value of twenty pounds or more ; dth, that those 
who furnish the certificate, upon the best informa- 
tion they can obtain, verily beHeve that the absent 
person went to the enemy ; 5th, that this act was 
voluntary on his part ; 6th, that he was still absent ; 
7th, that he was out of the state at the time when 
the certificate was drawn up. 

This certificate totally fads to come up to the first 
requirement of the act. It was not under the hands 
of the major part of the committee of correspond- 
ence, etc. Moreover, the committee seem to have 
been in error as to the necessary premises to give 
them power to act in the matter. They assert in 
the certificate that the information given to the 
judge must come from the selectmen or committee 
of the towns in which the estates of the refugee 
lie. The act does not require that the estates 
should lie in the town, but does require that the 
absentee should have been an inhabitant thereof. 
The certificate does not set this fact forth. It also 
fads to allege that the abandoned estate within the 
state was worth twenty pounds or more. The fact 
that the belief on the part of the committee that 
the absentee went to the enemy was based upon the 
best intelligence they could obtain is not averred, 
nor is the important fact alleged that his flight was 



74 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

voluntary. The certificate does not specifically as- 
sert that the absentee was still absent from Worces- 
ter, nor that he was then out of the state. It may 
be said that some of these omissions were matters 
of inevitable inference from what was actually said, 
and that all of them, even the most important, were 
cui'rently believed. It cannot be doubted that all 
of these defects are merely technical, and that their 
occurrence in the certificate is to be ascribed to lack 
of skill on the part of the person who drafted the 
dociunent. Where jurisdiction of the courts could 
be acquired, in cases involving the right to the pos- 
session of so great an amount of property, by the 
mere assertion of belief to certain facts based upon 
the best information available, it would probably be 
asking too much to insist that the judges should 
have required a technical comphance with the law 
on the part of the committee, in order to gain juris- 
diction. 

It was to escape from the persecutions from his 
former friends and neighbors, from which he had 
already suffered, and which would inevitably have 
been continued unless he should abandon his polit- 
ical opinions, that Chandler, in the fall of 1774, 
sought safety in Boston, and it is not surprising, 
under these circumstances, that the omission in the 
certificate of the allegation on the part of the com- 
mittee that the flight was voluntary was overlooked 
by the judge of probate. 

Upon the filing of a certificate by the proper of- 
ficers, which should set forth the requisite facts, the 



THE PROBATE FILES 75 

judge of probate was authorized and empowered 
to nominate and appoint a discreet person to be 
agent of the absentee. Such agent was required to 
file an inventory of the estate within three months, 
and was instructed to sell at public auction the per- 
sonal estate, except as otherwise provided for, and 
with the proceeds to pay creditors within the United 
American States. Any surplus remaining in the 
hands of the agent after such payments was to be 
paid in to the treasurer of the state. 

On the 7th of May, Joseph Allen was ap- 
pointed "Agent on the Estate of John Chandler, 
Esq." Allen filed a bond with two sureties, having 
a penalty of two thousand pounds lawful money, 
for the faithful performance of the duties which 
under the statute he was required to perform. It is 
through the date of this bond, and through the time 
fixed therein for the return of the inventory, that we 
are able to fix the time of Allen's appointment. The 
bond was dated May 7, and the agent bound him- 
self to file the inventory, which was, by the statute, 
required within three months of the appointment, 
"at or before the seventh day of August next ensu- 
ing." The bond, which is number 2 on our list, was 
drawn up with skill, but the blanks left to be filled 
in on execution still bear witness to the carelessness 
or incompetency of those who supervised this act. 

It was provided in section two of the act to pre- 
vent waste, etc., that persons should be appointed 
and sworn to appraise the estate which should come 
into the hands of the agent in the same manner as 



76 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

was then required in the settlement of the estates 
of deceased persons. The next four papers from 
the files are orders of the probate court appointing 
appraisers in Worcester, in Hampshire County, in 
Leominster, and in Royalston. Upon each of these 
documents the jurat certifying the oath which was 
administered to the respective appointees is duly 
entered.^ The appraisers were ordered severally to 
appraise the property in lawful money, and to make 
their returns as soon as conveniently might be. 
Special instructions were given to the Worcester 
appraisers as follows : " If the said absent person 
left a wife behind him or family you are to apprize 
the bedding utensils and implements of household 
furniture every article separately by itself, and if 
there are any in the family of the sd John Chandler 
Esqr. which he was obliged to support, who are not 
able to maintain themselves, you will return their 
names with their several inabilities and the sup- 
port they stand in need of." In the instruments 
themselves, these orders of appointment are termed 
warrants. The document which was issued to the 
Leominster appraisers contains not only the original 
warrant and the jurat, but also bears the return of 
the appraisers. There being but one piece of land 
in Leominster, the appraisers immediately upon ap- 

^ In the warrant of the Hampshire County appraisers, the first of 
the appointees is named John Cutting. The oath to perform the 
duties was according to the jurat administered to John Kirkland. 
There is nothing in the papers to explain this. Kirkland is described 
in the jurat as " one of the appraisers." 



THE PROBATE FILES 77 

pointment made their return, and recorded the same 
upon the warrant itself. 

The special instructions to the Worcester apprais- 
ers, heretofore quoted, were in recognition of the 
rights accruing to the family under the fifth section 
of the act to prevent waste, etc. Judges of pro- 
bate were, by that section, authorized and empow- 
ered " to allow bedding, utensils and implements of 
household furniture, necessary to the upholding of 
life, for the use of the wife and family of the ab- 
sent person." The judge could " also assign to the 
wife the use and improvement of one third part of 
the real estate, during the absence of the husband." 

The seventh document of the files is a petition to 
the judge of probate, on the part of Mary Chan- 
dler, November 20, 1778, requesting him to use the 
power lodged in his hands by the act, and assign to 
her one third part of the improvement of her said 
husband's real estate, during his absence. This 
petition was not granted by the judge, and as the 
family at this time must have been dependent upon 
the estate for support, we must look elsewhere for 
authority for the agent to apply any part of the in- 
come of the estate for this purpose. This is to be 
found in the resolve passed June 25, 1776, author- 
izing committees of correspondence having estates 
of refugees in their possession to allow for the sup- 
port of the famiHes so much of the improvements 
as, combined with the industry of the families, 
would provide for their comfortable support.^ In 

* Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 711. 



78 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

the act to prevent waste, etc., in the eleventh sec- 
tion, similar power is lodged in the hands of the 
judge of probate. He was authorized to allow out 
of the rents and profits of the estate, for the better 
support of those persons remaining in the state and 
demeaning themselves as faithful subjects, whom 
the absentee was obliged to support, such sum of 
money as he should judge reasonable, having regard 
to their ability to support themselves. The instruc- 
tions to the Worcester appraisers show that the 
judge, in drafting them, had this section in mind. 
The appraisers were to return the names of those in 
the family unable to support themselves, with their 
several inabilities and the aid of which they stood 
in need. 

The next documents in the files are the returns 
of the appraisers, other than those appointed from 
Leominster, whose return was made at once on the 
warrant of appointment. The Royalston apprais- 
ers, November 28, 1778, estimated the value of the 
real estate there at £1100. The Hampshire County 
appraisers first made a return of the value of the 
property in 1774, 1775, but the agent objected to 
this, and they then added what they supposed to 
be the additional value of the lands in December, 
1778.^ The general effect of this was to increase 
the valuation nearly three and one half fold. 

^ This Hampshire County property was the subject of protracted 
controversy before the General Court. It was originally purchased 
from the Province at public auction and conveyed by the purchaser 
to four grantees, Chandler being one. The purchasers petitioned for 
a rebate from the purchase price, and the matter was compromised 



THE PROBATE FILES 79 

The returns of the Worcester appraisers of the 
real and personal estate are in separate parts and 
carry two dates. The detailed inventory of the 
personal property bears the inscription, '^ Done at 
Worcester, April y" 7, 1777." The return of the 
real estate in Worcester and vicinity is dated Janu- 
ary 9, 1779. 

Accompanying these and forming a part of the 
same document is the jurat entered by the judge of 
probate, March 17, 1779, which sets forth that the 
agent then made oath that the foregoing inventories 
together constituted a just and perfect inventory of 
all the estate of the said absentee, except the rents 
of the real estate and the proceeds of the sale of 
the stock. The several inventories above alluded to 
are contained in the papers numbered as follows : 
the Leominster return, 5 ; the Royalston return, 8 ; 
the Hampshire County return, 9; the Worcester 
return, 11. The oath of the agent is probably in- 

by an additional grant of land. There was afterwards a lengthy dis- 
cussion before the general court as to the duty of the proprietors 
to construct a bridge over Westfield River, the details of which are 
given, Acti and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1231 et seq. All of 
the proprietors but one were absentees, and the discussion resulted 
in the passage of an act, June 19, 1779, authorizing the Court of 
General Sessions of the Peace to build the bridge. The court was 
further authorized, if it was found to be necessary, to sell enough of 
the lands to pay for the bridge. Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. 
V. p. 1069. They apparently did this, for a deed made by the Clerk 
of the Peace for the County of Hampshire in consequence of the 
Act of June 19, 1779, was subsequently declared void by the general 
court. Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 56, p. 248. June 28, 
1781, Lot No. 9 of the Murrayfield property was granted to Thad- 
deus Newton. Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 1, 1781, p. 479. 



80 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

tended as a substitute for the one that he was re- 
quired to make, under the second section of the act 
to prevent waste, etc., to an inventory which it was 
his duty to file within three months from the time 
of his appointment. 

A comparison of the date of the appointment of 
the Worcester appraisers with the dates on the in- 
ventory returned by them shows that the detailed 
inventory of personal estate was made up a month 
before the warrant of appointment was issued, and 
two days before the passage of the act to prevent 
waste, etc., under which, by the terms of the ap- 
pointment, they were to act. It is clearly the inten- 
tion of the act that appraisers should be sworn to 
the faithful performance of their duties before actu- 
ally entering upon their work, but in this case they 
apparently proceeded to inventory the real estate, 
and after filing this and simultaneously filing the 
inventory of personal property previously prepared, 
they swore that " in executing the trust reposed in 
them they acted faithfully and impartially according 
to their best skill and judgment." 

The evident desire of the parties concerned in 
these proceedings to take no steps which were not 
sanctioned by some existing law calls for an exami- 
nation, at this point, of the possible authority for 
the action of these appraisers in thus taking posses- 
sion of the personal property at this early date. 

A review of some of the legislation already re- 
ferred to which bears upon this question, and which 
was enacted prior to the passage of the act to pre- 



THE PROBATE FILES 81 

vent waste, etc., is necessary at this point, in order 
that we may know what officers were entitled at this 
time to take possession of the estate and to make 
an inventory of the personal property. 

On the 19th of April, 1776, the committees of 
correspondence, safety, and inspection of those 
towns in which there was any property belonging to 
refugees were, by resolve, instructed to take posses- 
sion of such estates, to lease the real estate for the 
benefit of the colony for one year, and to return in- 
ventories of the personal estates which should come 
into their possession. From the effects of this re- 
solve, estates which had been conveyed by refugees 
to persons friendly to the colony prior to March 
22, 1775, were excepted. This resolve was not 
passed by the council until April 23, but it is occa- 
sionally referred to under the date of its passage in 
the house as above. 

There were other resolves passed after this date 
and prior to the passage of the act to prevent waste, 
etc., which touched upon the question of the man- 
agement of the property of trustees, but they were 
either merely explanatory or local in their character. 
From the 23d of April, 1776, until the 9th of 
April, 1777, the resolve known as the House Resolve 
of April 19 stood upon the statute books as the 
only source of the authority under which any per- 
son was authorized to take possession of the pro- 
perty of refugees elsewhere than in Boston. The 
inventory of personal property must, therefore, have 
been prepared originally for " the Colony," by the 



82 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Worcester committee of correspondence, under that 
resolve.^ 

The paper numbered 10 in the series received 
from the probate office is headed " An Inventory 
of the real Estate of John Chandler, Esqr., late of 
Worcester an absentee as contained in several in- 
ventories taken by appraisers appointed for that 
purpose." It has no signature attached to it and 
bears no date, except one which forms a part of the 
Hampshire County return. It contains all the real 
estate and must, therefore, have been prepared after 
all the returns were filed. The total footing of the 
estimated value of the Leominster and the Worces- 
ter real estate is given as <£27,040, but the correct 
addition of the several items is £26,040. 

On the 17th of March, 1779, Mary Chandler re- 
newed her petition for the assignment to her of the 
use and improvement of one third of the real estate 
of her husband, alleging as a reason for her reap- 
pearance in court that the anxiety and solicitude 
attending the long suspense she had been in rela- 
tive to the premises were very disagreeable to her, 
for which, as well as other reasons, she was moved 
to make this request, which, if granted, would be of 

* The Worcester appraisers were Samuel Curtis, Nathan Perry, 
and Samuel Miller. The committee of correspondence, etc., elected 
March 14, 1777, was composed of John Cunningham, William 
Stearns, Samuel Miller, Samuel Brown, and Josiah Pierce. Collec- 
tions Worcester Sac. of Ant., vol. iv. p. 289. Miller was the only ap- 
praiser who was a member of the committee of correspondence, etc. 
Curtis was an assessor that year. Perry was selectman, and had 60 
votes out of 61 cast at the town meeting for county treasurer. 



THE PROBATE FILES 83 

essential service to her, as a permanent security for 
the support of herself and her orphan family. 

This petition, which is document number 12 on 
the list, must have been based on the act to prevent 
waste, etc., that being the only act existing at that 
date under which the judge of probate had the 
power to make such an assignment. The rights 
which she could acquire under that act were limited 
in their duration to " the absence of her husband." 
It is pathetic, therefore, to note that she asks for 
the assignment as a permmient security for the sup- 
port of herself and family. An explanation of her 
abandonment, at this time, of all hope that her hus- 
band might be permitted to return to his former 
home is to be found in the passage, on the 16th of 
October, 1778, of the "Act to prevent the return 
to this State of certain persons therein named, and 
other persons who have left this State, or either of 
the United States, and joined the enemy thereof." * 
John Chandler belonged to the class of persons 
who were considered of enough importance to be 
" therein named." His absence, therefore, must 
necessarily, after the passage of this act, have been 
regarded as permanent. 

On the 29th of April, 1779, the agent filed an 
account, number 13 on the list, charging himself 
with what he had received from leases during the 
then current year, and taking credit for disburse- 
ments made in behalf of the estate. On the 4th of 
May, oath as to the accuracy of the account was 

1 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 912. 



84 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

administered by the judge of probate, and the ac- 
count was duly allowed, and the agent was ordered 
to pay over the balance to the treasurer of the 
state. This action was taken in pursuance of a 
resolve of the general court, passed February 19, 
1779, in which those agents who had not made 
up inventories were ordered to do so immediately. 
They were also required to make up their accounts 
with all possible expedition, and after deducting 
such allowance to the wife, widow, or family of the 
refugee as the judge of probate might have ap- 
proved, to pay over the balance to the treasurer of 
the state.^ 

The next paper, number 14, is an order of the 
probate court appointing three commissioners to ex- 
amine claims of creditors against the estate and re- 
port thereon at or before September 1, 1780. It 
does not appear when these commissioners executed 
their trust and filed their report, but there is a jurat 
attached to the order of court by Joseph Wheeler, 
a justice of the peace, certifying that in May, 1782, 
the within-named commissioners made solemn oath 
that in executing the trust reposed in them by vir- 
tue of the commission they acted faithfully and im- 
partially according to the best of their skill and 

^ Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1000. Mass. Arch., 
vol. 221, no. 146 ; Printed Resolves, res. cxcv. In this account the 
agent charges himself with rentals received from lessees in Worcester 
and Hampshire counties. Special authority had been given him to 
lease certain real property for one year at a rental to be approved by 
the selectmen of Worcester. Resolves of the General Assembly of the 
State of Massachusetts Bay, res. xxvi., April 9, 1778, p. 6. 



THE PROBATE FILES 85 

judgment. The order appointing the commission- 
ers bears evidence of having been drawn up under 
the fourth section of the act to prevent waste, etc., 
which authorized the appointment of commissioners 
in this way in case the estate of the absentee was 
insolvent. The commissioners were required under 
this section to advertise the times and places of their 
meetings in such papers as the judge of probate 
should direct, and were to make their report in six, 
twelve, or eighteen months, at the discretion of the 
judge of probate. This report was required to be 
sworn to. All of these requirements were set forth 
in the order. 

Colonel Chandler's estate was not insolvent. The 
general evidence bearing upon this point is satis- 
factory enough, but if we need testimony that the 
estate was then regarded as solvent, it is to be found 
in one of the papers already reviewed. In the ac- 
count of the agent, the paper submitted just before 
the one we are considering, he incorporates the 
phrase, " excepting what has been allowed by the 
honorable judge of probate to the wife and family 
of the absentee." This allowance the judge was 
authorized to make under section eleven of the act 
to prevent waste, etc., in cases where the estate of 
the absentee was not insolvent. It follows, therefore, 
that notwithstanding the evident fact that the order 
appointing the commissioners, with its instructions 
as to advertising and its requirements that the list 
of claims should be under oath, etc., was drafted 
under section four of the act to prevent waste, etc.. 



86 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

the authority for their appointment was not derived 
from that act. It is to be found in the third sec- 
tion of an act in addition to an act to prevent waste, 
etc., passed October 16, 1778.^ This section simply 
authorizes the appointment of such commissioners, 
whether the estate is insolvent or not, without re- 
quiring any special method of procedure on their 
part, or limiting in any way the time in which they 
may perform their duties. The act is, however, by 
its terms a mere addition to the act to prevent 
waste, etc. 

It has been seen that Mrs. Chandler twice peti- 
tioned the probate court to have assigned to her the 
use and improvement of one third part of her hus- 
band's real estate. She was entitled, under the act 
to prevent waste, etc., to so much of the household 
property as was " necessary to the upholding life." 
So far as the real estate was concerned, the judge 
of probate had power given him under that act to 
assign to her use and improvement one third part 
of the real estate " during her husband's absence." 
The exercise of this power was, however, discretion- 
ary on his part, and he had evidently preferred to 
make use of the alternative power given him in the 
same act to make her an allowance out of the rents 
and profits of the estate. In May, 1779, the " Act 
for confiscating the estates of certain persons com- 
monly called absentees " ^ became a law. Under the 
ninth section of that act, Mrs. Chandler, having 

* Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 911. 
2 Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 968. 



THE PROBATE FILES 87 

remained continuously within the jurisdiction of the 
United States, became entitled to the improvement 
and income of one third part of the husband's real 
and personal estate (after payment of debts) during 
her life and continuance within the said United 
States. Her right to this part of the income and 
improvement of the estate was not only clear, but 
the language of the act was imperative that the pro- 
perty should be set off to her. " Her dower there- 
in," says the statute, referring to a wife situated 
as was Mrs. Chandler, " shall be set off to her, by 
the judges of probate of wills, in like manner as it 
might have been if her husband had died intestate, 
within the jurisdiction of this State." ^ 

It was under this section that the judge of pro- 
bate, on the 12th of October, 1779, appointed a 
committee to appraise the real estate and to set off 
to Mary Chandler, the absentee's wife, one third 
part of the said real estate, so as may be convenient 
for her, for her dower therein during her life and 
continuance within the United States of America, 
and what the committee so set off they were to 
describe by plain and lasting metes and bounds, that 
so confusion might be prevented upon the reversion 
of the dower. The committee was instructed to 
give notice to all concerned, and if all parties were 
satisfied with their proceedings, they were to signify 
the same by countersigning. Their commission was 
to be sealed up with their report and returned with 
all convenient speed to the register's office of pro- 

* Acts and Res. Prov. Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 971. 



88 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

bate by one of themselves. This warrant appoint- 
ing the committee is the 15th paper in the series, 
and bears the jurat of the judge of probate certify- 
ingf that the several commissioners made oath to the 
faithful execution of the trust reposed in them on 
the 6th of December, 1779. 

The next document, number 16, is the report of 
the commissioners, dated December 6, 1779. They 
estimated the value of the real estate at .£76,515, 
more than double that given in the previous ap- 
praisal, and they set off to the wife as the third 
part of the real estate, the homestead, two pastures, 
a farm, a wood-lot, a pew in the meeting-house, and 
a ten-acre lot on the Paxton road, all of which they 
estimated to be worth .£25,505, exactly one third 
of the value assigned by them to the total real 
estate. They stated that the land and buildings 
thus set off were all in the town of Worcester. Be- 
neath the signatures of the commissioners the words 
" We consent " were written, and these were fol- 
lowed by the signatures of Mary Chandler and 
Joseph Allen, " Agent on the estate of John Chan- 
dler Esq. an Absentee." 

Then follows the order of the judge of probate, 
February 8, 1780, setting off the above-mentioned 
estate to Mrs. Chandler for and during the term of 
her natural life and continuance within any of the 
United States of America. 

These commissioners had nothing to do with 
the personal estate. An allowance of one half the 
household goods for the use of Mrs. Chandler had 



THE PROBATE FILES 89 

already been made by the agent, as appears from 
a report subsequently made by him. A third valu- 
ation of the real estate at an earlier date was made 
by Chandler. The values given in these several 
inventories are not reconcilable with any theory as 
to the value of real estate in Massachusetts, nor if 
by " lawful money " the appraisers understood cur- 
rency, with the depreciation of the currency at the 
alleged dates of the later appraisals. The question 
of the meaning of these returns has been discussed 
elsewhere, and at this point nothing further need 
be said. 

The 17th paper on the files is an annual report 
of the agent, bearing no date itself, but containing 
the certificate of the judge of probate. May 20, 1780, 
that the agent on that date swore to the truth of the 
account and that the same was allowed by the court. 
The balance the agent was ordered to pay into the 
treasury of the state, " agreeable to a resolve of the 
great and general court for that purpose." The 
resolve referred to must have been the one passed 
February 19, 1779, which, so far as agents already 
duly appointed by courts of probate were concerned, 
merely ordered them to pay in the money " as the law 
. . . directs," thereby referring to the act to pre- 
vent waste, etc.^ 

Number 18 is the report of the commissioners 
appointed to examine the claims of creditors against 
the estate. The report is dated December 25, 1781, 
but has attached to the list of claims a certificate of 

1 Acts and Res. Prov, Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 1000. 



90 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

allowance of claims against the estate, dated January 
1, 1782, signed by the commissioners, and an order 
of the court of probate accepting and allowing the 
report, dated May 7, 1782. The report is signed by 
the commissioners who were appointed September 
1, 1779, and who, as it appears in document number 
14, made oath in May, 1782, that they had faith- 
fully executed their trust. The two papers, 14 and 
18, were evidently before the judge at the same 
time, and the endorsement of the jurat was made 
on number 14. The oath is thus thrown out of its 
proper chronological sequence. 

Numbers 19 and 20 are certificates that a certain 
amount is due from the estate to the claimants 
respectively named in the certificates. The papers 
are alike in form and recite the appointment of the 
commissioners. They each contain an allegation 
that the full amount of the claims is so much 
in silver, and that the sum of so much is due to 
the claimant named in the certificate. The claim 
described in number 20 is mentioned in the re- 
port which is number 18 of our list, and the total 
amount of claims given in this certificate agrees 
with the amount stated in that report. The other, 
number 19, refers to a claim not to be found in 
number 20, and gives a different sum as the total 
amount of claims ao:ainst the estate. From this it 
is evident that the commissioners made more than 
one return. Both certificates are dated May 20, 
1782, and in both the money used is silver at the 
rate of six shilhngs and eightpence per ounce. 



THE PROBATE FILES 91 

These certificates were issued under authority con- 
ferred by the act to provide for the payment of 
debts due from the conspirators and absentees and 
for the recovery of debts due to them, passed March 
2, 1781.1 

Number 21 is a bond of indemnity running to 
the judge of probate, given by a creditor of the 
estate with two sureties, and is dated May 20, 1782. 
It recites the fact that the committee appointed 
in the act to provide for the payment of debts, 
etc., had, under the authority conferred by that act, 
and by the addition to the act, paid to the creditor 
a claim allowed against the estate. If the estate 
should prove to be insolvent, the principal and sure- 
ties agreed to pay back " the rateable proportion " 
of the claim, so that aU the creditors might receive 
in proportion to their just demands. The authority 
for this proceeding is to be found in the " Act in 
addition to an act entitled An Act to provide for 
the payment of the debts," etc., which was passed 
May 15, 1781, in which the committees were author- 
ized to make such payments, provided the creditor 
gave his bond with sureties to refund and pay back 
his ratable part and proportion in case said estate 
should prove insolvent.^ 

Number 22 is a reappointment, January 10, 1782, 

1 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 50, p. 115 et seq. This 
volume is cited by the binder's title to distinguish it more readily 
from the Acts and Resolves of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. It 
is the first of a series of reprints of the laws and resolves of the state 
now being issued. 

2 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, p. 124, ch. 53, May 15, 1781. 



92 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

^ 

of the commissioners to examine claims against the 
estate not before examined. It purports to have 
been made under authority conferred by a resolve 
of the great and general court dated March 7, 
1782. There are numerous resolves and acts, passed 
from time to time to cure defects in the various acts 
and resolves under which these proceedings were 
conducted, and it happens that there was one, the 
date of which, in the published laws of the state, is 
given as March 7,^ but this deals with the question 
of leasing the estates by the committees appointed 
to sell them. There is, however, a resolve dated 
March 8, 1782, which seems to be the one that cov- 
ers the case.^ 

There is no endorsement on number 22 to show 
that the reappointed commissioners declined to 
serve, but the fact that number 23 is a warrant ap- 
pointing a fresh board of commissioners to exam- 
ine new claims against the estate would make this 
probable. The date of number 23 is February 6, 
less than a month after the reappointment of the 
old board. Three citizens of Worcester are ap- 
pointed therein to receive and examine claims not 
before examined and allowed. It is evident that 
one of these gentlemen refused to serve, for on the 
20th of February a second warrant, number 24, 
was issued, naming, as commissioners, two of the 

1 This was an instruction to the committees for the sale of the 
estates of absentees to lease any of them for the ensuing year. Laws 
and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, p. 925, ch. 524, March 7, 1782. 

2 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, p. 919, ch. 514, March 8, 1782. 



THE PROBATE FILES 93 

gentlemen appointed in number 23 and substituting 
the name of another citizen of Worcester in place 
of the third. The report of the commission, dated 
May 20, is attached to the warrant, and bears the 
jurat of a justice of the peace, dated June 3, 1783, 
certifying that the commissioners made oath that in 
executing the trust they acted faithfully and impar- 
tially according to their best skill and judgment, 
and the allowance by the court, October 7, 1783. 
The judge also appends a certificate that the report 
has been forwarded to the governor and council. 

Number 25 is another bond of indemnity dated 
March 1, 1783, similar to number 21. 

Number 26 is an order of the court of probate 
accepting and allowing the report of the commis- 
sioners reappointed to receive and examine claims 
against the estate. It is dated October 7, 1783, 
and refers to the report, dated May 20, attached 
to number 24. 

Number 27 is the report of Joseph Allen, agent 
on the estate of John Chandler, Esqr., an absentee. 
The agent charges himself in June, 1777, with 
cash received from the sale of cattle and with cash 
received from the committee of correspondence, etc., 
of the town of Worcester. He also charges him- 
self with sundry obligations given to the committee 
of correspondence which he had collected. These 
were evidently on leases.^ The balance in his hands 

1 The resolve of April 19, 1776, authorized committees of corre- 
spondence to lease real property for one year, and instructed them 
to return an inventory of the personal property. The agent charges 



94 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

May 3, 1779, was £425-6-3, which he converted 
into £34-13-3 silver. The balance in his hands 
February 3, 1784, was £68-15-8, which he then 
apparently j)aid into court. There is an entry of 
this latter date which is in the form of a certificate 
to the effect that the agent made oath to the truth 
of the account ; that the account was allowed ; that 
the money had been received ; and that the agent 
was discharged. This lacks any signature, but was 
presumably prepared for the judge of probate. 

Number 28 is a receipt taken by the register of 
probate, April 14, 1785, on surrender of a certifi- 
cate of a claim against the estate. 

Number 29 is a certified copy of a resolve of 
the general court, June 15, 1785, authorizing the 
appointment of commissioners to examine the claim 
of Thaddeus and William Maccarty, the same to be 
paid, if allowed, out of the part of the estate set off 
for dower. 

Number 30 is a warrant, dated June 1, 1787, ap- 
pointing commissioners to examine this last-men- 
tioned claim.^ It bears the jurat of a justice of the 

himself with cash received in June, 1777, from sale of cattle at ven- 
due. These sales were probably effected under special authority 
conferred by resolve passed December 26, 1776, authorizing the 
Worcester committee to sell certain stock at public vendue. See 
contemporaneous publications of the resolves, December, 1776. 

For some reason Allen petitioned the general court for instruc- 
tions as to leasing certain real property in 1778, and on the 9th of 
April was authorized to effect the leases at a rental to be approved 
by the Worcester selectmen. Resolves of the General Assembly of 
the State of Massachusetts Bay, res. xxvi., April 9, 1778, p. 6. 

^ On the 4th of June, 1785, John Chandler Williams was, by re- 



THE PROBATE FILES 95 

peace, dated July 9, 1787, certifying that the com- 
missioners made oath that they would act faithfully 
and impartially according to their best skill and 
judgment in receiving and examining the claim, and 
also the report of the commissioners on the 10th of 
July, 1787. 

With this paper our review of the case, so far as 
the probate files are concerned, must cease. The 
action of the general court in ordering the Mac- 
carty claim to be satisfied out of the dower estate 
will recall to those who have noted the peculiarities 
of the different statutes that the act to prevent 
waste, etc., provided that the allowance to the wife 
should be assigned as in the case of administration 
upon the intestate estates. That is to say, debts 
must first be paid. Under the Confiscation Act her 
allowance was to be set off after payment of debts. 

Under the " Act to provide for the payment of 
debts," etc., one third of the real estate was to be set 
off to her, and creditors were to take their chances 
out of the two thirds. Under this special act the 
dower estate was to pay the whole of the claim. 

solve of the general court, authorized to present a claim against the 
estate. If allowed, it was to be paid out of the dower estate after 
two years from February 11, 1785. Laws and Res. of Mass. 1784- 
86, ch. 9, p. 630. The Maccarty claim was in a similar way author- 
ized to be presented by resolve on the 15th of June. Laws and Res. 
of Mass. 1784-85, ch. 25, p. 638. 

In 1782, a claim of John Cunningham had been allowed by resolve 
of the general court, provided the estate paid all other creditors. 
This was not payable out of the dower estate. Laws and Res. of 
Mass. 1782-83, ch. 7, p. 190. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE COURT RECORDS AND THE ARCHIVES 

The records of the Inferiour Court of Common 
Pleas are now in the custody of the clerk of the 
Superior Court. From these it appears that at a 
term of the court held in Worcester in September, 
1779, Levi Lincoln of Worcester, in the county of 
Worcester, attorney for the late government and 
people of the State of Massachusetts Bay in New 
England, and now the Commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts, having been specially appointed for that pur- 
pose, came into court and made two complaints 
against John Chandler, in both of which he set 
forth that a certain state of facts existed which evi- 
dently brought Chandler within the definition of 
those against whom the Confiscation Act was di- 
rected.^ He further alleged in each complaint that 
on the 1st day of January, 1775, Chandler was 
seized and possessed, and was then entitled to be 
seized and possessed, of certain real property fully 

^ The complaints were based upon Chandler's flight to Boston, his 
remaining there after April 19, 1775, and his departure therefrom 
after April 19, 1775, to Great Britain, without permission of some 
legislative or executive authority. These substantial facts are true, 
but the dates given in the complaints are all wrong. 



THE COURT RECORDS AND THE ARCHIVES 97 

described by metes and bounds in the two com- 
plaints, tbe one covering the property in Royalston, 
the other covering land in Worcester and neighbor- 
hood, and pews in the meeting-house. The com- 
plaints then allege that, " by force of the premises 
and the law of this State intituled ^ An Act for 
confiscating the estates of certain persons commonly 
called absentees' the said several tracts of land 
with their appurtenances ought to escheat, enure 
and accrue to the sole use and benefit of the gov- 
ernment and people aforesaid." 

The cases were continued to the session of the 
court in December, 1779, and the clerk of the 
court was ordered to make out a notification that 
claimants to the estate might then and there enter 
their claims. At the latter term of court, a deputy 
sheriff made return of said notification ; that in 
Royalston, there being no mansion house, he had 
posted it in a public place in the town ; in Worcester 
he had left it at the mansion house. No person 
appearing at this term to take upon him the de- 
fence of the suits, they were continued to the March 
term, 1780, at which time John Sprague appeared 
for the defence and the cases were continued to 
the June term, when Sprague appeared again. The 
cases were then continued to the September term, 
Sprague still appearing in the record as representing 
the defence. The cases were then continued to the 
December term, when defaults were taken. The 
following order was then entered in each case : " It 
is by the court considered that the said John Chan- 



98 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

dier is guilty in manner and form as alleged against 
him, and that the lands, tenements and heredita- 
ments described in the said complaint, with the ap- 
purtenances, privileges and easements thereunto 
belonging are forfeited and do escheat, enure and 
accrue to the sole use and benefit of the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts ; and that a writ of habere 
facias possessionem issue in behalf of the Common- 
wealth aforesaid to cause them to be seized and 
possessed of the same."^ 

The Royalston estate described in the complaint 
comprises all the lots mentioned by the appraisers, 
and they can be identified by their numbers, with the 
exception that in the complaint the number of one 
of the lots is given as 91, while in the appraisal it is 
given as 90. There are, in addition, in the com- 
plaint fractional interests in lots amounting to about 
fifty-five acres. 

The property described in the Worcester com- 
plaint evidently includes all of the dower property. 
The writs of habere facias possessionem were duly 
issued. They were dated January 24, 1781, and 
were returned as executed, putting Levi Lincoln in 
possession, that which covered the Royalston pro- 
perty February 10, 1781 ; that which covered the 
Worcester property February 24, 1781.^ Mrs. 

^ The complaint is drawn up under section four of the act for con- 
fiscating the estates of certain persons commonly called absentees 
{Acts and Res. Prov. of Mass. Bay, vol. v. p. 968), and the notification 
and service of the same are in accordance with the provisions of the 
Bame section. 

2 See London transcripts, post. 



THE COURT RECORDS AND THE ARCHIVES 99 

Chandler, being then alive, still retained possession 
of the property which had been assigned to her use. 
In September, 1783, she died, and on the 4th of 
October the general court authorized seven of the 
children to take possession and improve for their 
advantage that part of the real estate of their father, 
lying in Worcester, that was set off to their mother 
for the support of her and the children, until the 
further order of the general court.* 

On the 2d of July, 1784, the general court or- 
dered all confiscated estates to be sold by auction.^ 
This, of course, included the estate which had been 
allotted to the children until further order of the 
general court, but this was rectified by the passage, 
on the 11th of February, 1785, of a resolve con- 
tinuing in force the resolve of October 4, 1783, 
which had authorized Charles Chandler and others 
to take possession and improve a part of the estate 
of their father for the space of two years from the 
date of February 11, 1785, the resolve of July 2, 
1784, notwithstanding.^ It was while the family 
was in possession under this extension of the resolve 
of October 4, 1783, that, by special legislation, John 
Chandler WilHams and Thaddeus and William Mac- 

1 The names of the seven children are given in Laws and Res. of 
Mass. 1782-83, p. 744, Resolve on the petition of Charles Chandler and 
others, ch. 15, October 4, 1783. In this list the name of Samuel 
Chandler is included. The same resolve is published in the contem- 
porary publication of the Resolves of the General Court of the Com- 
monwealth of Massachusetts in New England, Boston, 1783, p. 47, but 
the name of Samuel Chandler does not appear. 

^ Laws and Res. of Mass. 1784-85, ch. 58, p. 234. 

* Laws and Res. of Mass. 1784-85, ch. 46, p. 343. 

ILofC. 



100 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

carty were authorized to prove claims against the 
estate, the same to be satisfied, if allowed, out of 
the dower estate, after the two years should have 
expired/ 

On the 10th of June, 1786, on the petition of the 
children to the general court that the part of their 
father's estate which had been assigned and set off to 
their mother as her third be granted and confirmed 
to them in fee simple, it was resolved "that the 
prayer of the petition be so far granted that they 
have conferred unto them, and hereby are seized 
and possessed in fee simple as tenants in common, 
of all that part of their father's real estate which 
was assigned and set off to their mother for her 
thirds (excepting a certain parcel thereof which 
hath been described and granted to the county 
of Worcester for the purpose of erecting a goal 
thereon), the petitioners paying and discharging all 
those debts due from the said estate which have not 
already been paid." ^ This resolve was, on the 23d 
of June, repealed, and a new resolve was passed set- 
ting forth that the resolve recently passed failed of 
its beneficial intent, and putting the same parties in 

1 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1784-85, eh. 9, p. 630, and ch. 25, p. 638. 

2 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1786-87, ch. 13, p. 278. The gaol lot 
was granted to the county of Worcester on petition of the justices 
of the court of general sessions, February, 1785, by resolve of the 
general court. Laws and Res. of Mass. 1784-85, ch. 58, p. 349. The 
lot stood on what is now Lincoln Square, and the brook, which is 
now converted into a city sewer, is called Swift River in the re- 
solve. The title vested in the county so long as the county should 
continue and maintain a public gaol thereon, or should rebuild the 
same. 



THE COURT RECORDS AND THE ARCHIVES 101 

possession of the same property, they " paying and 
discharging all those debts due from the said estate, 
which have not already been examined and allowed 
by the commissioners on the same, as reported to 
the judge of probate for the said county."^ There 
is not enough information to be extracted from the 
papers connected with the case to fully explain the 
meaning of the change in this resolve. 

Copies of these Court Records are numbered 31 
and 32 in the calendar. 

There are ten papers in the " Massachusetts Ar- 
chives," most of them being of little value. Number 
33 is a return to the general court. May 26, 1777, 
pursuant to the requirements of the resolve of "April 
19, 1776," made by the committees of correspond- 
ence, safety, and inspection of Murrayfield, showing 
what had been accomplished in the way of selling 
the personal property of Chandler left in that town, 
and reporting a lease of real estate for one year. 

Number 34 is a report of the judge of probate, 
May 8, 1782, to Governor Hancock, embodying the 
report of the commissioners to receive and examine 
claims, which appears as number 18 in the papers 
of the probate files. 

Number 35 is a certificate of the judge of probate, 
May 20, 1782, as to a claim. 

Number 36 is an extract from a list of the names 
of agents, forwarded June 8, 1782, by the Worces- 
ter register of probate in response to an order of 
the general court. 

1 Laws and Res. of Mass. 1786-87, ch. 47, p. 292, June 23, 1786. 



102 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Number 37 is a report to Governor Hancock, made 
by the judge of probate of Worcester County, 
October 7, 1783, that pursuant to a resolve of the 
general court bearing date March 7, 1782, certain 
commissioners to receive and examine claims had 
been reappointed. The substance of the report of 
the commissioners is given, by which it appears that 
the claims returned are those given in the report 
which has already appeared as number 24 in the 
papers of the probate files. 

Number 38 is a statement of account of the 
Chandler estate with the committee for the sale of 
absentees' estates in the county of Worcester. The 
names of four purchasers are given : Levi Lincoln, 
Hii-am Newhall, Solomon Goodell, and Silas Howe. 
The column of dates contains no entry except " April 
20th, 1784," which has a line drawn through it. 
It is probably the date of the rendering of the 
account. The column of dates was evidently in- 
tended for the several sales. The entry there of 
the date of the account would be an error, and this 
would explain its erasure. This paper furnishes the 
last link in the chain of evidence relating to the 
disposition of the estate. We have the various acts 
of the agent and the committees from the seizure to 
the confiscation, and we now are able to lodge the 
title of a part of the real estate in the purchasers at 
the auction sale. 

There are two papers filed in the "Archives" 
under the same number as the foregoing statement 
of account. They are vouchers connected with the 



THE COURT RECORDS AND THE ARCHIVES 103 

returns of the committee for the sale of the ab- 
sentees' estates in Worcester County, but there is 
no entry in the account with which they can be 
identified. 

The first of these, which is numbered 39, is a 
receipt of Gad Pierce. The second, which is num- 
bered 40, is a memorandum of expense connected 
with the sale of the Chandler farm to Levi Lincoln. 

Number 41 is a bill of the probate court of 
Worcester County, June 10, 1784. Number 42 is 
without date. It is a memorandum of the warrants 
drawn by the governor on the treasury in favor of 
creditors of the estate. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE LONDON TRANSCRIPTS 

The late Benjamin F. Stevens wrote concerning 
the papers in the Public Record Office which deal 
with claims for compensation for losses in the Amer- 
ican war, as follows : — 

" A history of the vicissitudes, losses, custody, 
and preservation of the Loyalists' books and papers 
in the Record Office would be as romantic as inter- 
esting. It has usually been assumed that the Com- 
missioners' Entry and Minute Books have been a 
fairly complete recapitulation of the papers pre- 
sented by the respective claimants, and these volumes 
of Entry and Minute Books have been consecutively 
numbered as if fairly complete. I have found a 
statement by one of the Commissioners to the effect 
that soon after the Board of Commissioners deliv- 
ered their books and papers to the Government, sev- 
eral volumes were stolen or lost. That is a hundred 
years ago. The remaining books and papers were 
repacked and stored in official custody until they 
came into the Public Record Office some forty or fifty 
years ago. When they were unpacked they seem to 
have taken their present consecutive numbering." ^ 

1 Proc. Am. Ant. Soc, April, 1901, pp. 171, 172. 



THE LONDON TRANSCRIPTS 105 

It was from these books and papers that Mr. 
Stevens caused the transcripts to be made with which 
we are about to deal. In the transcriber's note of 
contents the pagination refers to a MS. volume 
presented to the American Antiquarian Society. It 
was thought best to leave the list undisturbed, as 
the papers can be easily identified, and the calendar 
prepared for this volume gives them in detail by 
numbers. 

When Chandler arrived in England, he was, ac- 
cording to his own statement, penniless. In Sep- 
tember, 1776, he petitioned Lord George Germaine, 
principal Secretary of State for the American De- 
partment, that present support might be provided 
him. This petition is the first of the London 
transcripts, being number 43 in the calendar. There 
can be but little doubt that his case was favorably 
considered by Lord Germaine, as we know that 
during his residence in London he was in receipt of 
aid from the British government, and it is likely 
that this assistance began at that time. The grants 
then made to the refugees were regarded as merely 
temporary in their nature. The first were only for 
three months. Then as the war was prolonged they 
were renewed from time to time, and thus assumed 
the shape of quarterly grants. In the end they 
became regular annual allowances.^ 

1 Historical View of the Commission for enquiring into the Losses and 
Claims of the American Loyalists at the close of the war between Great 
Britain and the Colonies in 1783, by John Eardley-Wilmot, London, 
1813, p. 16. 



106 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

February 17, 1779, Chandler petitioned the lords 
commissioners of the treasury for a further con- 
sideration on their part of the peculiar hardships of 
his case, representing to them that the allowance he 
then received was not adequate for his support, and 
that he had been compelled to incur debts which he 
could not discharge. In this petition, which is the 
second of the London transcripts, number 44 in 
the calendar, he set forth at some length his former 
circumstances, and described the events which had 
compelled him to flee from his home. A hearing 
was given him on the 26th of October. The state- 
ments made in his petition were corroborated by 
certificates from General Gage, Governor Hutchin- 
son, Thomas Ohver, and Robert Auchmuty. These 
certificates are respectively numbers 47, 48, 49, 
and 50. 

In 1782 the pensions paid the refugees had as- 
sumed such proportions that the board of treasury 
appointed a committee to inquire into the cases of 
all the American sufferers, both of those who were 
already in receipt of assistance and of those who 
were claiming it, and to report their opinion thereon 
to their lordships.^ 

There can be but little doubt that the petitions 
and certificates already mentioned were copied for 
the benefit of this committee, and that the copies 
used by the committee are those which have been 
preserved. The wrapper enclosing these papers is 
endorsed " R. 6. Nov. 1782," i. e., received 6th 

' Historical View of the Commission, etc., p. 18. 



THE LONDON TRANSCRIPTS 107 

November, 1782. Apparently, Chandler availed 
himself of the opportunity thus afforded in the 
examination of his case to fortify it by the presenta- 
tion of two new certificates, a second from Robert 
Auchmuty and one from Thomas Flucker, secretary 
of the province. These are numbers 45 and 46. 

These papers are all from bundle 73, Audit 
Office, loyalist series, concerning which Mr. Stevens 
says, " The bundles of original papers in the Audit 
Office series, in which alone many of the claims for 
compensation can now be found, owing to the loss 
of some of the Commissioners' books, are of varying 
sizes and descriptions. Bundle 73, from which 
most of John Chandler's transcripts are taken, is 
approximately a cubic foot, and contains the papers 
of many claimants. The papers of each individual 
claimant are folded together, but otherwise there is 
no systematic arrangement. I have endeavored to 
give my transcript a chronological sequence." ^ The 
date which should be assigned to the foregoing 
papers would probably be November 6, 1782, the 
time when they were received by the committee. 

The exhibits which accompany the memorials are, 
as a rule, copies of papers used in former proceed- 
ings either in England or America. Hence they 
antedate the papers which they accompany and to 
which they are necessarily subordinate. If they 
were introduced in their chronological sequence, it 
would be necessary to separate them from the papers 
to which they were originally appended. This 

1 Proc. Am. Ant. Soc, April, 1901, p. 175. 



108 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

would destroy the clues to the history of the case. 
Their introduction where they belong in the presen- 
tation of the case before the commissioners causes 
several instances of apparent violation of the chrono- 
logical sequence in the arrangement of the papers. 
These were of course unavoidable, unless all pretence 
of following the case as it came before the commis- 
sioners should be abandoned. 

The next transcript, number 51, is from folio 
122, volume 105, of the loyalist series in the Audit 
Office. It is a record of a meeting of a board, 
whether of the committee under that style or of the 
lords of the treasury does not appear, but prob- 
ably the latter. It does not bear any date, but it 
evidently holds its proper place in the chronological 
sequence, for at this meeting the certificates, which 
have already been described, were introduced, and 
in addition Harrison Gray is quoted as having testi- 
fied to the same general purpose. The minute of 
the proceedings at this meeting is followed by a 
record of a decision recommending an augmenta- 
tion of <£50 in the future. This entry is the last 
of the transcripts which Mr. Stevens classifies under 
" Temporary Support." 

We now come to the prosecution of Chandler's 
claim before the commissioners appointed under the 
act, and the several papers in these proceedings 
which follow are put by Mr. Stevens under the 
heading of " Compensation." By far the greater 
part of them are from bundle 73, which has already 
been described. Beginning with number 52, all the 



THE LONDON TRANSCRIPTS 109 

transcripts up to and including number 96 are ap- 
parently from this source, and were furnished by 
Chandler to the commissioners. Before entering 
upon an analysis of these papers, a word or two 
may perhaps be permitted as to the circumstances 
surrounding the birth of this commission, from 
which one can learn to appreciate the highly cred- 
itable actions of the British government in assum- 
ing the heavy obligation of remedying the wrongs 
inflicted by the several states upon the exiled loy- 
ahsts. 

The work of the treasury committee of 1782 
was well advanced when the treaty of peace was 
concluded in 1783. Every effort of the British 
commissioners during the negotiation which pre- 
ceded the treaty having failed to secure from the 
United States an agreement to restore the property 
and protect the persons of the refugees, it was 
understood in England and foreseen by Parhament 
that the fifth article of the treaty, wherein it was 
agreed that Congress should recommend to the sev- 
eral states to take such action as would promote 
these results, would prove to be merely perfunctory, 
its insertion having been made solely to show the 
loyalists that they had not been forgotten. Parha- 
ment therefore took the matter promptly in hand 
and passed the " Act appointing Commissioners to 
enquire into the losses and services of such per- 
sons who have suffered in their rights, properties, 
and possessions, during the late unhappy dissen- 
sions in America, in consequence of their loyalty to 



110 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

his Majesty and attachment to the British Govern- 
ment." ^ The committee appointed by the Lords of 
the Treasury had under consideration 315 cases at 
the time of the passage of this act, and these "as 
unfinished business were turned over to the new 
Board of Commissioners." ^ 

Mr. Stevens gives an interesting account of the 
manner in which the commissioners conducted their 
meetings, which is of enough importance to be re- 
produced in this connection. " In the ordinary 
course," he says, " the Commissioners would exam- 
ine all the papers and then would lay aside the 
Memorial, one Schedule of Losses, when more than 
one, evidences, including affidavits, and perhaps one 
or two certificates to be copied into the Minute 
Book. The Commissioners by their own hands took 
down the oral evidence of the claimant and usually 
of two or three witnesses. These Hearing Notes 
would also be given in the Minute Book, and lastly 
the Commissioners' 'Determination,' usually about 
one page, recapitulating the principal points of their 
reasons for arriving at their decisions and stating 
the amount awarded."^ The volume of minutes 
covering this case is lost. It is not hkely, however, 
that it would have furnished much additional infor- 
mation, as the presentation of the case was so fully 
made by means of documentary evidence, such as 
the memorials of Chandler, sustained by affidavits 

1 23 Geo. III. cap. 80. 

2 Proc. Am. Ant. Soc, April, 1901, p. 173. 

3 Proc. Am. Ant. Soc, April, 1901, p. 174. 



THE LONDON TRANSCRIPTS 111 

and accompanied by copies of the Worcester papers. 
The amount of the final award, which is the only 
thing of importance that is missing, and which, of 
course, would not be found in the evidence, is pre- 
served in the entry in the Liquidation Book, vol. 
109, and is given later in the transcripts. 

The first of the papers under the heading " Com- 
pensation," number 52, is a memorial of Chandler, 
dated February 9, 1784, addressed to the commis- 
sioners appointed by act of Parhament for in- 
quiring into the losses and services of the American 
loyaHsts. In this he briefly states the basis of his 
claim for losses by confiscation and refers to two 
documents attached as exhibits. These are a copy 
of the Worcester protest and a schedule of his 
property. 

The schedule follows next in sequence and is num- 
ber 53 in the series. He gives therein a detailed 
list of the several parcels of real estate owned by him, 
to which he adds a brief statement of the confis- 
cated personal property. A statement of losses of 
income from offices and from his store follows this. 
The valuation of the real and personal property 
foots up £11,076-13-6. In the heading of the 
schedule the words "Valued in Sterling" occur, 
and over the column of figures the word " Ster- 
ling " is written. There can be no doubt, therefore, 
as to the basis of this valuation. He makes no 
schedule of the debts due him, saying that he sup- 
poses they are secured to him by the treaty of peace, 
but he adds a list of the property concerning which 



112 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

he has no evidence of confiscation. A list of wit- 
nesses whom he desires to have called to testify to 
his loyalty and to his losses is appended. 

A supplemental schedule follows, dated March 
15, 1784, making certain corrections, which, with 
allowances for losses of income, brings up the valu- 
ation of the estate to £16,566-13-6. In this he 
announces the death of his wife and adds the name 
of another witness to his losses. This paper is 
number 54. 

Then follow the affidavits of James Putnam, 
Joshua Upham, Abijah Willard, Ebenezer Cutler, 
and Daniel Murray in corroboration of the accuracy 
of the valuations set forth in the schedule. These 
are numbers 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59, and were all of 
them sworn to before the Commissioners of Amer- 
ican Claims at their office, Lincoln's Inn Fields, at 
different dates in July and August, 1784. 

Number 60 is a certified copy of the celebrated 
Worcester protest. The interest which naturally 
attaches to this document is increased in this case 
by the fact that the certificate is contemporaneous, 
having been made four days after the meeting by 
Clark Chandler, the town clerk, who was compelled 
to expunge the protest from the record, and who 
was publicly reprimanded for having entered it. 

The presentation of the case involved proof of 
loyalty and proof of loss through loyalty. The pa- 
pers which have already been examined were devoted 
to these topics. There was no occasion for further 
evidence as to loyalty or character, but the commis- 



THE LONDON TRANSCRIPTS 113 

sioners were not willing to rely exclusively upon the 
evidence of the refugees and their friends in the 
proof of pecuniary losses. They therefore sent an 
agent to America to collect such useful information 
as was possible, and they required claimants to sub- 
mit proof of confiscation and of values procured from 
America. The papers which follow are in the main 
those procured by Chandler from the files and re- 
cords of Worcester and Hampshire counties. Many 
of them are duplicates of those which have already 
been reviewed, and there are also several duplicates 
among the papers in the Record Office. This was 
probably occasioned by the protracted consideration 
of the case by the commissioners, which led Chan- 
dler from time to time to appeal for a decision, and 
to accompany such appeals with a few exhibits, some 
of which were cumulative as evidence and some 
were merely dupHcates. Accompanying these copies 
of papers in America were certificates of clerks of 
courts and registers of probate to the accuracy of 
the copies, and in turn the right of these officers to 
give such certificates was authenticated under the 
seal of the state by the governor. The duplicates 
and the certificates we can eliminate from further 
consideration. Numbers 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 
and 83 are duplicates of papers in the Worcester 
probate files ; numbers 73 and 74 are duplicates 
of the Worcester court records; numbers 75, 89, 
96, and 100 are notes by the transcriber as to 
duplicates among the transcripts; and number 99 
is a duplicate of a paper already given in the tran- 



114 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

scripts. Numbers 61, 81, and 86 are certificates by 
the governor, and number 72 is a certificate by the 
Worcester register of probate, all four certificates 
beino- of the formal character above mentioned. 

The court records of Worcester County furnish 
the judgments in the confiscation suits against land 
in that county. Hampshire is the only other county 
in which Chandler owned real estate. Number 63 
is a copy of the judgment in the suit instituted 
against the estate in that county. It will be remem- 
bered that the Worcester suits proceeded to judg- 
ment under services of the writs by leaving a copy 
at the last and usual place of abode, or by posting 
a notice on the premises, and that in consequence 
of the amendment to the Confiscation Act, passed 
while the suits were pending, both these methods of 
service were made illegal, and were cured by special 
legislation. The Hampshire suit was not begun 
until after the passage of this amendment, and the 
difficulties experienced in the Worcester cases were 
avoided. Some regard to the facts was had in this 
case, in the allegations in the declaration. It is 
there alleged that Chandler fled from Worcester 
October 1, 1774 ; Chandler says, in one of his me- 
morials, that since September, 1774, he has not been 
able to procure any support from his estate. In 
another he says he fled from his home in November. 
In another he says that soon after the outbreak in 
Worcester in September, 1774, he found it neces- 
sary for his personal safety to fly for protection to 
Boston. It is quite likely that this event took place 



THE LONDON TRANSCRIPTS 115 

about the time alleged in the declaration. The al- 
legation as to his withdrawal from the province into 
parts and places under the authority or control of 
the king of Great Britain is to the effect that he 
went " to HaUfax and to New York " March 30, 
1776. In this suit Thaddeus Newton intervened, 
claiming to own lot number 9, but in the end New- 
ton permitted the suit to go by default. 

Copies of the writs of habere facias possessionem 
in the two suits in Worcester County were procured 
by Chandler and submitted to the commission. 
They are numbers 62 and 64. Each of these writs 
bears the return of the deputy sheriff that he has 
put Levi Lincoln, representing the commonwealth, 
in possession of the property. 

For some reason or other, a search was made 
against Chandler's name in the registry of deeds of 
Hampshire County, both as grantor and as grantee. 
The returns by the register, accompanied by the 
certificate of the proprietors' clerk as to the lots 
originally assigned Chandler, furnished complete 
evidence as to the real estate owned by him in that 
county. These papers are numbers 76, 77, and 78. 
Evidence of the sale of Chandler's property by the 
committees appointed to sell the estates of absentees 
was furnished. These certificates are numbers 79, 
82, 87, and 88. Letters from Chandler, urging 
action, asking what further proof was needed, and 
adding exhibits to the great mass of papers abeady 
in the hands of the commissioners, were forwarded 
October 11, 1785, November 10, 1785, February 28, 



116 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

1786. These are numbered 80, 84, and 85. The 
pensions of the loyalists were subject to forfeiture 
if they left Great Britain for a protracted period. 
In 1786, Chandler obtained a permit for the con- 
tinuance of his pension for the period of twelve 
months, during absence from Great Britain. He 
visited Halifax, where some of his family Hved, and 
in May, 1787, submitted a memorial to the commis- 
sion asking for an extension of the permit. This is 
number 90. While in AnnapoHs Royal, sundry 
papers connected with the claims against the estate 
were submitted to him. He repHed giving such 
information as he possessed with regard to the 
several claims. This correspondence and the papers 
connected therewith are given in numbers 91, 92, 
93, 94, and 95. 

Volumes 81, 82, 83, loyalist series. Audit Office, 
contain a part of the papers connected with the 
report of John Anstey, who was sent by the com- 
missioners " to America to collect the laws of the 
several states against loyalists, lists of the proscribed 
persons, sales, court proceedings, advertisements, 
and, in short, to get such official and other informa- 
tion as he could obtain that would be useful to the 
Commissioners in checking or weighing the indi- 
vidual claimant's evidence." ^ 

Numbers 97, 98, 99, and 100 are extracts from 
these books. The only point of interest connected 
with these is raised in the first of these extracts. 
Reference is there made to an act respecting John 

1 Proc. Am. Ant. Soc. April, 1901, p. 173. 



THE LONDON TRANSCRIPTS 117 

Chandler, passed June 28, 1781. This Is entitled 
" An Act for granting to Thaddeus Newton one 
hundred acres of land in the town of Murrayfield." 
The preamble recites that in 1773 Newton was 
entitled to a deed of one hundred acres of land in 
Murrayfield from Chandler, on certain conditions, 
which conditions he has fulfilled, but Chandler has 
not given a deed, therefore lot number 9 in the first 
division is granted to him.^ 

The London transcripts conclude with number 
101, which is an extract from volume 109, the 
Commissioners' Liquidation Book, giving an ab- 
stract of the facts connected with the case, show- 
ing the amount originally claimed, the sum allowed, 
the amount received, and other details. Doubtless 
Chandler was paid in compensation for his losses, 
in accordance with this report. 

* Laws and Res. of Mass. 1780-81, ch. 1, 1781, p. 479. 



APPENDIX 



A. 

CERTIFIED COPIES OF THE PAPERS ON FILE IN 
THE PROBATE COURT OF WORCESTER COUNTY 
IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS IN 
THE CASE OF JOHN CHANDLER, AN ABSENTEE.i 

LIST OF PAPERS ON PROBATE FILES. 

No. 1. April 18, 1777. Complaint of Committee of Corre- 
epondence against John Chandler and others. 

No. 2. May 7, 1777. Bond of Joseph Allen, Agent, for £2000, 
Benjamin Conklin and Benjamin Greene, sureties. 

No. 3. May 7, 1777. Warrant appointing Samuel Curtis, Na- 
than Perry and Samuel MUler, appraisers. 
Return of Appraisers, Jan. 1, 1779. 
Jurat, January 2, 1778 [79 ?]. 

No. 4. May 20, 1778. Warrant appointing John Cutting, 
David Scott and Enoch Shephard to appraise the estate 
in Hampshire County. 

Certificate that John Kirkland took oath of office 
August 6, 1778. 

Certificate of the oath of office administered to David 
Scott, Enoch Shephard September 22, 1778. 

No. 5. October 6, 1778. Warrant appointing David Wilder, 
Timothy Boutell and John Richardson to appraise es- 
tate in or near Leominster. 
Jurat, Oath of Office, October 8, 1778. 
Inventory and appraisal, October 8, 1778. 

^ Copied at Worcester, 1901. 



120 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

No. 6. October 6, 1778. Warrant appointing John Fry, Henry 
Bond and Pelatiah Metcalf to appraise estate in Roy- 
alston. 
Jurat, October 23, 1778, Oath of Office. 

No. 7. November 20, 1778. Petition of Mary Chandler for 
the use of one third part of her husband's real es- 
tate. 

No. 8. November 28, 1778. Inventory and appraisal of the 
Royalston estate. 

No. 9. December 3, 1778. Inventory and appraisal of the 

Hampshire County estate. 

Second appraisal by John Kirkland, December, 1778. 
No. 10. No date. Inventory of all the real estate. 
No. 11. January 9, 1779. Inventory of Personal Estate, April 

7, 1777. 

Inventory of Worcester real estate, January 9, 1779. 

Jurat, Oath of Agent, March 17, 1779. 
No. 12. March 17, 1779. Petition of Mary Chandler for the 

use of one third part of her husband's real estate. 

No. 13. April 29, 1779. Agent's account current. 
Jurat and Order of Court, May 4, 1779. 

No. 14. September 1, 1779. Warrant appointing Samuel Cur- 
tis, Nathan Perry and Samuel Brown to receive and 
examine claims. 

Certificate to the oath of these officers that they acted 
faithfully. May 1782. 

No. 15. October 12, 1779. Warrant appointing Benjamin 
Flagg, Nathan Perry and Samuel Miller to set oflE 
dower for Mary Chandler. 

Certificate dated December 6, 1779, that they swore 
that they had acted faithfully. 

No. 16. December 6, 1779. Report of Commissioners setting 
o£E dower and Consent of Mary Chandler and Agent 
Allen. 
Decree of Probate Court, February 8, 1780. 



APPENDIX 121 

No. 17. May 2, 1780. Agent's Account current. 
Order of allowance by Court. 

No. 18. December 25, 1781. Report of Commissioners ap- 
pointed to examine claims. 
Allowance of claims, January 1, 1782. 
Order of Court, May 7, 1782. 

No. 19. May 20, 1782. Certificate of John Erving's claim. 

No. 20. May 20, 1782. Certificate of Edmond Herd's claim. 

No. 21. May 20, 1782. Bond of Indemnity, £2000, Benjamin 
Greene, Principal, David Sanderson and Samuel 
Chandler, Sureties. 

No. 22. January 10, 1783. Warrant re-appointing Samuel 
Curtis, Nathan Perry and Samuel Brown to examine 
claims. 

No. 23. February 6, 1783. Warrant appointing Samuel Salis- 
bury, John Nazro and Elijah Dix to receive and exam- 
ine claims. 

No. 24. February 20, 1783. Warrant appointing Daniel 
Waldo, John Nazro and Elijah Dix to examine 
claims. 

Report, May 20, 1783. 

Jurat, Oath that they had acted faithfully, June 3, 
1783. 

Certificate of approval, October 7, 1783. 
Certificate that report forwarded to Governor and 
Council. 

No. 25. March 1, 1783. Bond of indemnity, £552, George 
Bethune, Principal, William Hunt and Levi Lincoln, 
sureties. 

No. 26. October 7, 1783. Order of Court allowing report of 
Commissioners re-appointed to examine claims. 

No. 27. February 3, 1784. Account of Agent to which is ap- 
pended a certificate that the Agent personally appeared 
at that date and swore to its truth, followed by an or- 
der allowing account and discharging Agent, the whole 
unsigned. 



122 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

No. 28. April 14, 1785. Receipt for certificate of claim. 

No. 29. June 15, 1785. Certified copy of Resolve passed by 

General Court. 
No. 30. June 1, 1787. Warrant appointing Daniel Waldo, 

Elijah Dix and John Nazro to receive and examine 

the Maccarty claims. 

Jurat, Oath of Office, July 9, 1787. 

Jvdy 10, 1787, Report of Commissioners. 



[Number 1.] 

Worcester, April 18, 1777. 

To the Honorable Levi Lincoln, Esqr., Judge of Probate 
for the County of Worcester. 
The Committee of Correspondence, Inspection & Safety 
for this Town, woud inform your Honor, that Agreeable 
to a late act of the Great & General Court of this State, 
to prevent waste, Destruction, or embezzelment of the 
estates of those persons who have left them & fled to to 
the enemy and as by said act information must come to 
the Judge from the Selectmen or Committees of said 
Towns where said estates are — The Committee for 
this Town in conformity to said Act woud inform your 
Honor, that John Chandler, Esqr. has absented himself, 
leaving a wife & family, that James Putnam, Esqr. has 
absented himself, with his whole family excepting one 
negro man — That Eufus Chandler has absented him- 
self with his wife leaving one child, — That Doctr. 
William Paine has absented himself & since sent for 
his wife leaving one child, — all which persons except 
Mrs. Paine have been absent more than three months 
& said Committee verily beleive have fled to the enemy. 
By order of the Committee of Correspondence &c for 
Worcester. 

John Cunningham, Chairman. 



APPENDIX 123 

(^Endorsement on back) 

1. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Complaint against John Chandler 

et als as absentees. 
By Com. of Correspondence &c. 
April 18, 1777. 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register 

[Number 2.] 
Know all men by these presents that we, Joseph Allen, 
Esqr. Benjamin Concklin, Clerk of Leicester & Benja- 
min Green of Worcester, Physician, all in the County 

of Worcester, within the State of the /^ Massachusetts 
Bay in New England are holden and stand firmly bound 
and obliged unto Levi Lincoln, Esqr. Judge of the 
Probate of Wills & granting administrations within the 
County of Worcester and also for appointing Agents and 
granting letters of Agency on the estates of those who 
have gone over to the Enemy for protection. Agreeable to 
an Act of the great & General Court of this State passed 
the present year, in the full sum of two thousand pounds 
in lawful money of said State to be paid unto the said 
Levi Lincoln Esqr. his successors in the said office or 
assigns : To the true payment whereof, we do bind our- 
selves and each of us, our, and each of our heirs, executors 
and administrators jointly & severally for the whole and 
in the whole, firmly by these presents. 

Sealed with our seals. Dated the seventh Day of May 
Anno Domini, one thousand seven hundred & Seventy- 
seven. 



124 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

The condition of this present Obligation is such, that if 
the above bounden Joseph Allen who is appointed (and 
hath taken upon himself) the office of Agent on the estate 
of John Chandler, Esqr. who has left (and been absent 

from more than three months) his usual place of 

abode and gone over to our enemies, do make, or cause to 
be made a true and perfect inventory of all and singular 

the goods, chatties, rights and credits of the said 

which have or shall come to the Hands possession 



or knowledge of him the said Agent or into the hands and 
possession of any other person or persons for him and the 
same so made do exhibit or cause to be exhibited into the 
Registry of the Court of Probate for the said County of 
Worcester at or before the seventh day of August next 
ensuing and the same goods, chatties, chatties. Rights 
and credits and all other the goods chatties, rights and 
credits of, or any way belonging to the said John Chan- 
dler, Esq., at the time of his absenting or since, or which 
at any time shall come to the hands & possession of the 
said agent, or into the hands & possession of any other 
person or persons for him, do well & truly account 
for & settle the same according to law and further do 
make or cause to be made a just and true Accompt of his 
said Agency upon oath at or before the seventh day of 
May, which will be in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and seventy eight and so often as he shall 
be required thereto by the said Judge and all the rest & 
residue of the said goods, chatties, rights & credits, which 
shall be found remaining upon the said agents accompt 
(the same being first examined and allowed of by the 
Judge or Judges for the time being of Probate of wills 
and granting administrations & Agencies within the 
County of "Worcester aforesaid) & he shall deliver and 
pay unto such person or persons respectively, as the said 
Judge or Judges by his or their decree or sentence pur- 



APPENDIX 125 

suant to law shall limit and appoint, and shall in all 
respects faithfully discharge the office of an Agent of the 
sd. estate according to the true intent & meaning of the 
late Act of this State entitled an Act to prevent waste 
destruction and embezzlement of the estates of such per- 
sons as have gone over to our enemy. Then the before 
written Obligation to be void and of none effect, or else 
to abide and remain in full force and virtue. 

Jos. Allen (seal) 

Benj. Conklin (seal) 
Benja. Greene (seal) 

Sealed & delivered in presence of us, 
Wm. G. Maccarty. 
Daniel Eveleth. 

{Endorsement on back) 

2. 
Case 10938 Series A. 
John Chandler 
Bond of 
Joseph Allen, Agent 
May 7, 1777 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 



[Number 3.] 

State of the Massachusetts Bay. 
Worcester, ss. 

To Mess. Saml. Curtis, Esqr., Nathan Perry & Samuel 

Miller, Gentln. all of Worcester. 

In the County aforesaid. Greeting. You are hereby 

appointed & impowered by virtue of a late law of this 

State to take an Inventory of and according to your best 



126 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

skill & Judgement truly & justly on oath to apprize all 
the goods or estate which was left by or can be found 
belonging to John Chandler, Esqr. late of sd. Worcester 
who voluntarily went over to our enemies, and has been 
absent from his usual place of abode for the term of three 
months last past, and if the said absent person left a wife 
behind him or family, you are to apprize the bedding 
utensils & implements of household furniture every article 
separately by itself and if there are any in the family 
of the sd. John Chandler, Esqr. which he was obliged to 
support, who are not able to maintain themselves, you 
will return their names with their several inabilities and 
the support they stand in need of and you are to make 
return of this warrant with your doings thereon unto the 
Probate Office in the same County, as soon as conven- 
iently may be. 

Given under my hand & seal of Office this seventh day 
of May A. D. 1777. 

Levi Lincoln, J. Prob. 

Worcester, ss. To the Honble. the Judge of Probate for 
the County of Worcester. 

By virtue of the within warrant we have apprized all 
the goods & estate belonging to the estate of John Chan- 
dler, Esqr. late of Worcester, absentee (which were shewn 
to us by the Agent for said estate) An Inventory of 
which, together with the value thereof, we herewith 
return. 
Jany. 1st, 1779. S.AML. CtJRTIS 

Nathan Perry Appraisers. 
Saml. Miller 

Worcester, ss. Jany. 2d, 1778. Then personally ap- 
peared the within named Saml. Curtis, Nathan Perry & 
Saml. Miller and made solemn oath that in executing the 



APPENDIX 127 

trust reposed in them they acted faithfully & impartially 
according to their best skill & judgment. 

Coram, Levi Lincoln, J. Prob. 

(^Endorsement on hack) 

3. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Warrant appointing Worcester 
appraisers of real and 
personal property 
May 7, 1777 

Report of Appraisers 
Jany. 1, 1779-8 ? 

Oath administered to appraisers 
Jany. 2, 1778 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 



[Number 4.] 

State of the Massachusetts Bay 
Worcester, ss. To Messrs. John Cutting of Nor- 

wich, David Scott of Norwich & Enoch Shephard of 
Murrayfield, Esquires, all in the County of Hampshire 
& State of Massachusetts Bay in New England, 
(seal) 

You are hereby appointed & impowered by virtue of a 
late law of this State, on oath to take an Inventory of & 
(according to your best skill & judgment) truly & justly 
to apprize in lawful money of this State, all the goods 
or estate which was left by, or that can be found in the 
County of Hampshire belonging to John Chandler, Esqr. 
late of Worcester in the County of Worcester, who vol- 
untarily went over to our enemies & has been absent from 



128 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

his usual place of abode for the term of three months last 

past. Aijd you are to make return of this warrant with 

your doings thereon into the probate office in the County 

of Worcester as soon as conveniently may be. Given 

under my hand & seal this twentieth day of May, a. d. 

1778. 

Levi Lincoln, J. Prob. 

Hampshire ss. Personally appeared John Kirkland one 
of the appraisers of the estate of John Chandler, Esqr. 
an absentee & made oath that in appraising sd. estate he 
would act faithfully and impartially and according to his 
best skill and Judgment. 
August 6th, 1778. 

Coram, Saml. Mather, Judge Probate. 

Hampshire, ss. Personally appeared David Scott & 
Enoch Shepheard two of the appraisors of the estate of 
John Chandler, Esqr. an absentee & made oath that in 
appraising sd. estate they would act faithfully & impar- 
tially & according to their best skill and judgment. 

Cor. B. Mills, Just. Pacis. 
Sept. 22, 1778. 

{Endorsement on back) 

4. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Warrant appointing apprs. 
of estate in Hampshire County. 

May 20, 1778. 
Oath administered to Kirkland 

Aug. 6, 1778 
Oath administered to Scott and 
Shephard, Sept. 22, 1778 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 



APPENDIX 129 

[Number 5.] 

State of the 

Massachusetts Bay Worcester, ss. 

To David Wilder, Timothy Boutell & John Richardson 
Gentlemen & all of Leominster, in said County, Greeting. 

You are hereby appointed & impowered by virtue of a 
late law of this State on Oath to take an Inventory of 
and (according to your best skill & judgment) truly & 
justly to apprize in lawful money of this State all the 
good or estate lying in a gore of land, adjoining or near 
to Leominster aforesaid which was left by or that can be 
found belonging to John Chandler, Esqr. of Worcester 
who voluntarily went over to enemies and has been absent 
from his usual place of abode for the term of three month 
last past, and your are to make return of this warrant with 
your doing thereon unto the Probate Office in the same 
County as soon as conveniently may be. Given under my 
hand this sixth day of October a. d. 1778. 

Levi Lincoln, J. Prob. 

Worcester, ss. Octr. 8th, 1778. Personally appeared 
before me Messrs. David Wilder, Timothy Boutell & 
John Richardson & severally made oath that in apprizing 
such goods estate belonging to John Chandler, Esqr. late 
of Worcester, an absentee, as shall be shewn them by 
Joseph Allen, Agent to said estate, they will deal truly 
& justly & according to their best skill & judgment. 

Israel Nichols, Justice Peace. 

An Inventory of a tract of land lying & being in a gore 
of land between the towns of Leominster & Westminster 
in the County of Worcester shewn to us this day by 
Joseph Allen Agent to the estate of John Chandler, 
Esqr. late of Worcester an absentee, as part of the estate 
of said Chandler, viz : — 



130 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

The above described tract supposed to con- 
tain one thousand acres at 20s/ pr acre £1000 
Leominster, Octr. 8, 1778. 

David Wilder 

TiMO. BouTELL Apprizers. 

John Kichaedson 

(Endorsement on back) 

5. 
Case 10938 Series A 

John Chandler 
Warrant appointing 

appraisers. 
Land near Leominster 

October 6, 1778 
Oath administered 

October 8, 1778 
Return made Oct. 8, 1778. 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 

Register 

[Number 6,] 
State of the 
Massachusetts Bay. Worcester, ss. 

To John Fry Esqr., Henry Bond & Pelatiah Metcalf 
yeomen all of Royalston in the County aforesaid, 

Greeting. 
You are hereby appointed and impowed by virtue of a 
late law of this State to take an inventory of and (accord- 
ing to your best skill and judgment) truely and justly 
to apprise (in lawful money of this State) all the goods 
or estate lying in Royalston aforesaid which was left, by, 
or that can be found belonging to John Chandler, late of 
Worcester, Esqr. who voluntarily went over to our ene- 
mies and has been absent from his usual place of aboad, 
for the term of three months last past, and you are to 



APPENDIX 131 

make return of this warrant with your doings thereon, 
unto the Probate office, in the same County, as soon as 
conveniently may be. 

Given under my hand, this sixth day 
of October a. d. 1778. 

Levi Lincoln, J. Prob. 

Worcester, ss. October ye 23d, 1778. 
Then the within named John Esqr., Henry Bond & Pela- 
tiah Metcalf personally appeared & made solemn oath to 
the faithfuU discharge of the within trust. Before 

Abel Wilder, Justice peace 

(^Endorsement on back) 

6. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler. 
Warrant appointing appraisers 
of estate in Royalston. 
October 6, 1778 

Oath administered Oct. 23 
Oct 23, 1778. 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 



[Number 7.] 

To the Honble. Levi Lincoln, Esq. Judge of Probate 
for the County of Worcester. 

Mary Chandler of Worcester in the County of Worces- 
ter, wife of John Chandler, late of Worcester, Esqr. an 
absentee. Requests that you would assign unto her one 
third part of the Improvement of her said husbands real 
estate dureing his absence, agreable to an act of this 
State, made in the year of our Lord, 1777. 



132 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Intitled " An act to prevent the waste, destruction and 
Embezzelment of the goods or estates of such persons who 
have left the same, and fled to our enemies for protection 
and also for Payment of their just debts out of their 

estates ". 

Worcester, Nov. 20th, 1778. 

Mary Chandleb. 

(Endorsement on back) 

7. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler. 
Pet. for Assignment of one 
third of the improvement 
of her husband's real es- 
tate. Mary Chandler 
Nov. 20, 1778. 

Copy. 

Attest: 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 

[Number 8.] 

In Obediance to the within Warrant we have apprized 
the land of John Chandler, Esqr. late of Worcester, ab- 
sconded : lying in Royalston in the County of Worcester, 
viz. 
Lot. No. 103 lying on the Legg north of Winchendon 

200 acres (£ 250 : : 
Lot No. 95 lying Ditto 200 acres 200 : : 

Lot No. 90 200 acres 200 : : 

Lot No. 52 200 acres 250 : : 

Lot No. 26 200 acres 200 : : 



Sum totle LawfuU money 1100 : : 

Royalston 
Novr. 28, 1778 JoHN FrtE 

Henry Bond Committe 

Pelatiah Metcalf 



APPENDIX 133 

(Endorsement on back) 

8. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler. 
Inventory by John Fry, et als. 
Royalston 
November 28, 1778. 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 

[Number 9.] 

To the Honourable Levi Lincoln, Esqr. Judge of Pro- 
bate for the County of Worcester. 
Persuant to a Warrant of Apprizement directed to us 
the subscribers from your honour, we have proceeded to 
apprize the estate of John Chandler, Esqr. an absentee of 
the County of Worcester which lyeth in the County of 
Hampshire in the following manner, viz : 

£ S D 
Lot No. 14 House, Barn & Saw Mill & under 

improvement 500 

Lot No. 13 Containing 100 acres at 12 pr acre 
Lot No. 15 containing 100 acres Do 
Lot No. 85 containing 100 acres at ISy pr acre 
Lot No. 36 containing 100 acres at 137 W ^^^^ 
Lot No. 9 containing 100 acres at 16V pr acre 
Lot No. 10 containing 100 acres at 17V P^ acre 
Lot No. 32 containing 100 acres at 15s pr. acre 
Lot No. 28 containing 100 acres at 15s/ pr acre 
Lot No. 29 containing 100 acres at 147 P^ ^^^^ 
Lot No. 59 containing 100 acres at V/ pr acre 
Lot No. 39 containing 100 acres at 67 pr acre 

at 

Lot No. 56 containing 100 acres /^ 87 pr. acre 
Lot No. 97 containing 100 acres at IIV pr acre 
The above lots are in the first division 



60 








60 








65 





65 








80 








85 








75 








75 








70 








35 








30 








40 








55 









70 
80 
70 
90 


100 
80 
90 








134 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Lot No. 30 containing 200 acres at 7s/ pr acre 
Lot No. 31 containing 200 acres at 8s/ pr acre 
Lot No. 33 containing 200 acres at 7V pr acre 
Lot No. 24, containing 200 acres at 9s/ per acre 
Lot No. 25, containing 200 acres, one hundred 

acres under Bond for a deed at 10s/ pr acre 

given in May 1774 
Lot No. 26 containing 200 acres at 8s/ pr acre 
Lot No. 27 Containing 200 acres at 9s/ pr acre 
Lot No. 1 containing 200 acres Bargained to 

Esqr. Kirkland for 12 s pr acre in 1774 120 

Lot No. 71 Deed to & mortgaged by Isaac Wil- 
liams, Jr. at 7 s/ pr acre 
Lot No. 64 containing 200 acres at 8s/ pr acre 

The above lots are in the Second division 
Lot No. 6 containing 100 acres at 6/ pr acre 
Lot No. 7 containing 100 acres at 8V pr acre 
Lot No. 20 containing 95 acres at 7s pr acre 
Intervail lots on the west Branch marked as fol- 
lows, viz 
O. 50 acres at 12s/ pr acre 
P. 50 acres at 12s/ pr. acre 
Q. 50 acres at 12s/ pr acre 
Lot No. 46 omited in the second Divn. 200 acres 

at 6s/ pr acre 60 

Undivided lands by estimation 400 acres at 3s/ 

pr acres 60 

Sum total, errors excepted X2458 5 

The Right in the Additional grant of 1200 hun- £ S D 

dred Acres 
Adjoining No. 5. containing 240 acres at 6s/ pr 

acre 72 

Brought from the other page 2458 5 

Sum total errors excepted £2530 5 



70 








80 








30 








40 








33 


5 





30 








30 








30 









APPENDIX 135 

A true apprizement of all the estate that has come to 
our knowledge belonging to John Chandler, Esqr. and 
Absentee from Worcester which lyeth in the County of 
Hampshire 

Enoch Shepard 

John Kirkland Apprisors 

David Scott 

N. B. Above apprizement was valued as land was esti- 
mated in the year 1774 & 1775. 

Norwich Decmr. 3th, 1778. 
The lands mentioned in this inventory were apprized ac- 
cording to their value in the years 1774 & 1775 but this 
mode not being satisfactory to the Agent for the estate 
within mentioned, the appraisers now declare what they 
suppose the additional value of said lands is, at the present 
time, viz, December 1778. 

Sum brought down £2530 5 

Additional value of lot No. 14 2000 

^ Ditto of lot No. 15 150 

First J Ditto of Lot No. 9 290 

Division | Ditto of lot No. 10 255 

^ Ditto of the remaining lots trebled 3470 10 

£8695-15-0 
P. Order of the other Apprizers. 

John Kirexand 

(Endorsement on tack) 

Case 10938 Series A 9. 

John Chandler 
Inventory by 

Enoch Shephard, et als. 
Hampshire Co. 
Dec. 3, 1778. 
Copy. 

Attest: 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 



136 



THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 



[Number 10.] 

An Inventory of the real estate of John Chandler Esqr., 
late of Worcester an absentee as contained in several in- 
ventories taken by appraisers appointed for that purpose, 



Lands lying in Koyalston in the County of Worcester 

Lot No. 103 lying on the legg north of 

Wiuchendon contang 200 acres .£250-0-0 

Lot No. 95 lying Do. 200 acres 200-0-0 

Lot No. 90 200 acres 200-0-0 

Lot No. 52 200 acres 250-0-0 

Lot No. 26 200 acres 200-0-0 



£1100-0-0 



Lot No. 13 containing 100 acres 



Land lying in the County of Hampshire 
Lot No. 14 house, barn and sawmill and under 
improvements 

12/ per acre 
Do 

13/ pr 

3/pr 

16/ pr 

7/pr 



15 

85 
86 
9 
10 
32 



Lot No. 
Lot No. 
Lot No. 
Lot No. 
Lot No. 
Lot No. 
Lot No. 28 
Lot No. 29 
Lot No. 59 
Lot No. 39 
Lot No. 56 
Lot No. 97 



Do 
Do 
Do 
Do 
Do 
Do. 
Do. 
Do 
Do 
Do 
Do 
Do 



acre 
acre 
acre 
acre 



100 acre 
100 acre @ 
100 acres @ 
100 acres @ 
100 acres @ 
100 acres @ 15/ pr acre 
100 acres a 15/ pr acre 
100 acres @ 14/ pr acre 
100 acres @ 7/ pr acre 
100 acres a 6/ pr 
100 acres @ 8/ pr 
100 acres a 11 pr 



acre 
acre 
acre 



The above lots are in the first Division 



Lot No. 30 
Lot No. 31 



con. 
Do 



200 acres 
200 acres 



a 7/ per acre 
a 8/ pr acre 



500-0-0 
60-0-0 
60-0-0 
65-0-0 
65-0-0 
80-0-0 
85-0-0 
75-0-0 
75-0-0 
70-0-0 
35-0-0 
30-0-0 
40-0-0 
55-0-0 



70-0-0 
80-0-0 



APPENDIX 



137 



Lot No. 33 Do 

Lot No. 24 Do 

Lot No. 23 Do 

bond for a deed 

1774 

Lot No. 26 Do 

Lot No. 27 Do 

Lot No. 1 Do 



200 acres @ 7/ pr acre 
200 acres @ 9/ pr acre 
200 : 100 acres under 
( 10/ pr acre given May 



200 acres @ 8/ pr acre 
200 acres a 9/ pr acre 
200 acres bargained to 
Esqr. Kirkland @ 12/ pr acre in 1774 
Lot No. 71 deeded to & mortgaged by Isaac 

Williams, Jr. at 7/ pr acre 
Lot No. 64 cong. 200 acres @ 8/ pr acre 

The above lots are in tbe second division 

Lot No. 6 cong. 100 acres @ 6/ pr acre 
Lot No. 7 Do 100 acres @ 8/ pr acre 
Lot No. 20 Do 95 acres @ 7/ pr acre 

Intervail lots on the west branch marked as 

follow viz 
O 50 acres @ 12/ pr acre 
P 50 acres @ 12/ pr acre 
Q 50 acres @ 12/ pr acre 
Lot No. 46 omitted in 2d division @ 6/ 
Undivided lands by estimation 400 acres 



70-0-0 
90-0-0 



100-0-0 
80-0-0 
90-0-0 

120-0-0 

70-0-0 
80-0-0 



^30-0-0 
40-0-0 
33-5-0 



X30-0-0 
30-0-0 
30-0-0 
60-0-0 
60-0-0 



£2458-5-0 
£2458-5-0 



The right in the Additional Grant of 1200 
acres Adjog No. 5, cong. 240 a @ 6/ pr acre 



72-0-0 



X72-0-0 
X2530-5-0 



The lands in the County of Hampshire were appraised 
according to their value in the year 1774 but this mode 
not being satisfactory to the Agent for the estate within 



138 



THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 



mentioned the appraisers now declare what they suppose 
the additional value of sd. land is at the present time, viz. 
Decer. 1778. 

Additional value of lot No. 14 2000-0-0 

First Do of lot No. 15 150-0-0 

Division Do of lot No 9 290-0-0 

Do of lot No. 10 255-0-0 

Do of the remaining lots trebled 3470-10-0 



£8695-15-0 



Land lying & being in a gore of land between 
the towns of Leominster & Westminster con- 
taing 1000 acres @ 20/ per 

» The Mill farm so called 

g 

^ The farm which Thos. Jones lives on 

(JH The farm which Gates & Stearns lives on 

ns The home Lot & buildings 

* The Cedar Swamp near J. Trobredges 



The Pasture near Cat. Mowers 

Do near Capt. Johnsons 
The farm where Mr. Cunningham lives 
4 pews in the Meeting house 
A farm in Charlton 



(Endorsement on back) 

10. 
Case 10938 Series A. 
John Chandler 
Inventory of real 
estate made up from 
appraisers' return 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register 



XlOOO-0-0 

4000-0-0 

3500-0-0 

5500-0-0 

2500-0-0 

80-0-0 

260-0-0 

500-0-0 

6500-0-0 

200-0-0 

2000-0-0 

27040 



APPENDIX 139 

[Number 11.] 

An Inventory of the personal estate belonging to John 
Chandler, Esqr., late of Worcester, shewn to us by the 

we 

Agent for said estate, which y^ have apprized at the sums 
following. 

Room 1 1-8 day clock at 40—1 Table 

1-4/ X41- 4 

8 Leather Bottomd chairs @ 2 8/ 1 
looking glass £8/ 10- 8 

1 round table at 1-4/ Round about 

chair 6/ 1-10 

1 fire shovle & tongue at 6/, 1 pr. iron 

dogs 12/ 18 

12 ching platis at £6/ 5 Delf Do at 15/ 6-15 

4 glass Decanters at 16/ 2 Bowls @ 3/ 

6 pictures at 1-4/ 2- 8 
(vinegar cruets, Beacar glasses wine 

glasses and salts at XI) 1- 

9 silver teaspoones <£1-16/ 1 small map 6/ 2- 2 <£66- 

Room 2d, 1 Bed, beding and curtngs at 

£11-10 11-10 

1 sacking Bedstead @ 18/ 18 

£ 

1 small bed, bedding & Bedstead at 6 6 

1 Desk at 3/ 1 desk at 12/ 1 small 

table @ £1 16 

1 chamber table at 6/ 1 small chest 5/ 11 

6 flagg Bottomd. chairs at .£1-16/ 1-16 

1 small looking glass 10/ 2 quarto 

bibles 2 2-10 

Betwen 60 & 70 volums of Octave duo- 

disimo and Quarto @ £40- 79-5 



140 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Room 3d. 1 bed with Harriteene cur- 
tins & furniture 15 
1 Bed, bedstead, coverled and Blanket 

at 10 
1 case of draws at £15, one easey chair 

@X8 23 

6 Harriteene Bottomd. chairs at <£9 9 

1 looking glass X20, 1 chamber table £5 25 

1 homespun carpet at 15/ -15 £82-15 

Room 4. 1 Bed, Bedstead and calico 
cuttings & other furniture at 12 

1 case of draws at 3, 1 toilet table at 18/ 3-18 

1 chamber table at 3/ 1 looking glass 6 9 
6 cain chairs at £3-12/ 1 trunk 2/ 3-14 

1 Pr. window curtings at 6/ 1 broken 

china bowl 6/ 12 29- 4 

Room 5th. 2 common Beds, bedsteads 
and beding, under beds &c @ £4 
each 8- 

1 old leather trunk & 1 old chest at 6/ 
each 

2 old flagg bottomd. chairs at 4/ 

Room 6. 1 Bed, Beding & bedstead 
Room 7th. 1 Bed, Bedstead & Bed- 
ing at £5 
2 old chairs @ 12/ 1 writing desk at 12/ 

Room 8th. 1 Bed, Bedding & Bed- 
stead £6 

1 old chair 2/ 

£ 

Room 9. 1 Bed, beding &c. 5/ 1 bed, 

£ 

bedding 4/ 9 

2 chairs at 2/ 1 Dutch glass 6/ - 8 9-8 



-12 

- 4 


8-16 


1-10 


1-10 


5- 
' 1- 4 


6- 4 


6 

- 2 


6- 2 



APPENDIX 141 

Room 10th. 1 Bed, bedding &c at Mj 

1 small looking glass 12/ 6-12 

1 case of draws @ £4 10/ 3 chairs @ 
12/ 5- 2 

1 chamber table @ 8/ 7 pictures in the 



stair case 12/ 


1 




1 glass lanthorn 20/ 2 pictures @ 6/ 


1- 6 




1 Eound about chair @ 12/ 1 Green 






couch @ 48/ 


3 


X17- 


Room 11th. 2 Bellmettle skellets at 






48/ 1 iron skillet 6/ 


2-14 




3 brass skimmers @ 6/ 1 brass cullen- 






der 3/ 


- 9 




3 Brass skillets 10/ 2 tosting irons 18/ 






1 flesh fork 2/ 


1-10 




1 Iron chaffing dish 2/8 1 brass Do 1/4 


4 




1 pr. brass chafing dishes 10/ 1 pr. 






brass candle sticks 30/ 


2- 




1 pr. smaller candlesticks 12/ 1 pr. 






small dito at 10/ 


1- 2 




7 Iron candlesticks 21/ 1 warming pan 






18/ 1 bellows 6/ 


3- 5 




1 jack weights & line @ 3 1 iron 






grate 6/ 


3- 6 




1 pr Andirons 20/ 1 pr. Tongs & fire 






shovel 12/ 


1-12 




4 oval earthan dishes 12/ 2 doz. best 






peuter plates 7-4 


7-16 




2 doz. other peuter plates 3-12/ 1 cop- 






per coffee pot 12/ 


4- 4 




1 brass coffee pot 10/1 tin ditto 2/ 


12 




1 copper tea kittle 12/ 12 peuter dishes 






@M 


4-12 




6 iron pots 1 at 12/ 1 @ 9/ 3 at 5/ each 


1-16 





142 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

1 iron kettle @ 8/ 1 copper baking pan 

@ 24/ 1-12 

3 flat irons @ 8/ 1 Gridiron & frying 

pan 12 

1 morter @ 18/ 1 meal chest 1/ 2 But- 
ter-tubs 2/ 1- 1 

1 iron crain & 4 tramels @ 3/ 1 brass 
kittle 40/ 5 

1 brass kittle @ 48/ 1 Dio. at 40/ 2- 8 

1 old square table @ 18 1 old dito @ 

6/ 1 Dito. @ 6/ 1-10 

1 Table a 3/ 3 Ml- 8 

Room 12th. 1 large looking glass @ 
20 20 

8 leather bottomd. chairs .£12/ 1 round 

about chair 8/ 12- 8 

1 square tee table X3/ 1 round ditto 8/ 

4 tee pots 6/ 3-14 

2 large delph & 1 china bowl broken 1- 4 

3 Vinegar Cruets & 2 beakors @ 10/ 10 

1 japand salver @ 12/ 2 cream collard 
pudding dishes 17 

4 earthen dishes @ 24/ 1 china Beaker 6/ 1-10 

2 large Dining tables X6/ 1 pr. brass 

topt andirons 48/ 8- 8 

2 pictures 20/ 1 coarse flore carpet 

@ 10/ 1-10 

1 Glass tumbler (S, 4 4 £50- 5 



Stock and out dore moovables. 
6 dozn. glass bottles @ £3 12/ 1 Riding 

shaye & harness 23-12 

1 hay hook 3/ 3 haye forks @ 6/ 3 

Draft chains @ 24/ each 4- 1 



APPENDIX 143 

1 small chain @ 6/ 2 shad shovels @ 

8-5 old hoes @ 8 1- 2 " 

1 dung fork @ 6/ 2 iron crow bars 

@ 4-16 5- 2 

1 riding slaye a 24/ 1 horse @ 16 17- 4 

2 Bettle rings @ 6/ 3 old siekels @ 4 

1 old axe @ 6/ 16 

1 sigth snath and tackling @ 6/ 6 62- 3 

1 cowe a .£14/ 1 cow @ XIO 1 Dito 

@ 12 dito £11/ 47- 

1 Dito @ 12£ 12 sheep 40/ each 36 

8 

6 old table cloths 36/ 12 old napkins 
@ 12/ 2- 8 

4 old meet tubs 32/ 1 Winrowing mill 

£6/ 7-12 

s 

2 draft chains @ 48/ 1 Ox yoak staple 

& ring @ 12/ 3 

1 old spade @ 3/ 1 iron harrow @ 

£6/ 6- 3 

1 old cart with ye irons belonging thereto 

@ £8/ 8- 

1 plow & irons £3 1 iron crow bar 48/ 

1 cheese press 18/ 6- 6 £116- 9 

Done at Worcester April ye 7, 

1777 Total £572- 9 

Real estate 

The mill farm so called @ £4000 

The farm which Phinehas Jones lives on @ 3500 
The farm which Jona. Gates & Charles 

Stearnes lives on @ 5500 

The house lot near the meeting house with 

the Buildings standing thereon at 2500 



144 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

The cedar swamp near James Trowbridges @ 80 

The pasture lying near Capt. Saml. Mow- 
ers @ 260 

The pasture lying near Capt. Mieah John- 
sons 500 

John 

The Farm whare Mr. ^^ Cunningham dwells 

with the buildings belonging thereto @ 6500 
Four pews in the meeting house @ 200 

£23615- 9- 
Worcester Jany. 9th, 1779. 

Saml. Curtis 

Nathan Perry Apprisers. 

Saml. Miller 

Memo. 2/3d. of a farm in Charlton estimated at two 
thousand pounds making in the whole twenty-five thou- 
sand six hundred & fifteen pounds nine shillns. 

{On back) 

Case 

Worcester, ss. March 17th 1779. personally appeared 
Joseph Allen, Agent on the estate of John Chandler, 
Esqr., late of Worcester as absentee & made solemn 
oath that the foregoing together with the three accom- 
panying inventory herewith exhibited contains a just & 
perfect inventory of all the estate of the said absentee 
except the rents of the real estate & the proceeds of the 
sale of the stock so far as has come to his the sd Agents 
Knowledge & that if anything further should come to his 
knowledge he would cause the same to be added. 
Coram 

Levi Lincoln, J. Prob. 



APPENDIX 145 

(Endorsed on back) 

11. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Inventory real and personal, 
Worcester, by 
Samuel Curtis et als. 
Personal, April 7, 1777 
Real, January 9th, 1779 
Oath of Agent 
March 17, 1779. 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) Geobge H Harlow 
Register. 

[Number 12.] 

To the Hon. Levi Lincoln, Esqr. Judge of the Probate 

of wills, &c. in and for the County of Worcester, 
Whereas the subscriber has heretofore requested your 
honor to assign to her the use & improvement of one 
third of the real estate of her husband John Chandler, 
Esqr. late of Worcester, absentee, lying & being within 
this State according to a law of said State made & passed 
A. D. 1777, And whereas no such assignment has as yet 
been made, she again desires & requests that such assign- 
ment may be made agreeable to said law & that she may be 
put in possession of one third part of said estate, to have 
& improve the same by virtue of such assignment for her 
own benefit & use. The anxiety & solicitude attending 
the long suspense she has been in relative to the premises 
are very dissagreable to her, for which as well as other 
reasons, she is moved to make this request, which, if 
granted, will be of essential service to her, as a permanent 
security of the support of herself & her orphan family. 

Mary Chandler. 

Worcester, March 17th, 1779. 



146 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

(Endorsement on back) 

12. 

Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
2nd Pet. for Assignment of 
the use and improvement 
of one-third the real estate &c. 
March 17, 1779. 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 

[Number 13.] 

Worcester, April 29th, 1779. The Accompt of 
Joseph Allen, Agent on the estate of John Chandler, 
Esqr. late of Worcester, an absentee, so far as relates to 
the leasing out said absentees real estate for the current 
year (excepting what has been allowed by the Honble. 
Judge of Probate to the wife & family of said absentee) 
in pursuance of a late resolve of the General Court for 
that purpose. 

The said Accomptant chargeth himself with the amount of 
the sums at which said real estate, lying in the Counties of 
Worcester & Hampshire, was leased, being 1801-16-0 

And prays allowance as follows : — 

For expences at the house where the 
estate was leased £ 2 

drawing & executing 28 leases 28 

7 days time & expences including the 
charge of sending a person to the 
County of Hampshire to lease part 
of said real estate lying there in- 
cluding the travelling said estate 
into proper divisions and viewing 



APPENDIX 147 



the situation thereof at the time of 
giving the leases 39 

Cash pd. the vendue Mst. for his 
trouble 9 



£78 

Also for cash pd. for notifying the 
time & place of said sale in the 
Worcester & two of the Boston 
news papers 8- 2 



X86- 2 

£1715-14-0 
Errors excepted. 

Jos. Allen, Agent on estate. 

Worcester, ss. May 4th, 1779. Then personally ap- 
peared the above named Joseph Allen, Agent as abovesd. 
and made solemn oath to the truth of the foregoing 
account. 

I allow thereof by which it appears he has a ballance in 
his hands of the sum of seventeen hundred and fifteen 
pounds fourteen shillings which I order him to pay unto 
the treasurer of this State agreeable to a resolve of the 
great and General Court of the seventeenth of Feby. 
Annoque Domini 1779. In testimony whereof I have 
hereunto set my hand this 4th day of May A. D. 1779. 

Levi Lincoln, J. Prob. 

^Endorsement on back) 

13. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Acct. Current of Joseph Allen. 

April 29, 1779 
Sworn to May 4, 1779 
Order of Court May 4, 1779 



148 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Copy. 

Attest: 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 

[Number 14.] 

Worcester, ss. State of Massachusstts Bay in New 

(seal) England. 

By the Honble Levi Lincoln, Esqr., Judge of the Pro- 
bate of Wills & for granting letters of admr. & letters of 
Agency on the estates of such persons absentees who have 
left this State & fled to our enemies for protection since 
the 19th day of April A. D. 1775 leaving estate to the 
value of twenty pounds & for appointing comissioners to 
receive & examine the claims on such absentees estate, 
within sd. County. 

To Samuel Curtis, Esqr., Nathan Perry and Samuel 
Brown, Gentlemen all of Worcester in the County & State 
aforesaid Greeting. 

You are hereby nominated & appointed according to a law 
of this State, comissioners with full power & authority 
to receive & examine all claims & how they are made out 
of the several creditors to the estate of John Chandler, 
late of Worcester in said County, Esquire an absentee, 
who left this State & fled to our enemies for protection as 
aforesaid, and to the end said creditors may bring in their 
claims, you are to cause the times & places of your meet- 
ing to attend them by receiving & examining their claims 
to be made known & published by posting up the same in 
some public places in the shire town of the County af oresd. 
& by advertising the same in the Independent Chronocle 
printed by William Boston & in the News paper printed 
in Worcester, and you are to make report & to present a 
true list to me the said Judge upon oath of all such claims 
as to you upon examination appears justly due & owing 



APPENDIX 149 

from said Absentee at or before the first day of September 
A. D. 1780 & afterwards to present a list as aforesaid 
from time to time as the said Judge may require until the 
final settlement of said estate when you are to make return 
of this Comission with all your doings thereon not before 
returned and all agreeable to the direction of law. In 
testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & the seal 
of said Court of Probate. Dated at Worcester this first 
day of September a. d. 1779 & in the fourth year of 
American Independence. 

Levi Lincoln, J. Prob. 

Worcester, ss. May 1782. Personally appeared Samll. 
Curtiss Esq., Nathan Perry & Saml. Brown the within 
named Commissioners and made solemn oath that in exe- 
cuting the trust reposed in them by virtue of this Com- 
mission, they acted faithfully and impartially according 
to the best of their skill and judgement. 
Coram, 

Joseph Wheeler, J. Pacis. 
By order of the Hon. Judge. 

(Endorsement on bach) 

14. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Warrant appointing commrs. to 
examine claims. 
September 1, 1779. 
Oath administered May 1782. 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 



150 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

[Number 15.] 

Worcester, ss. State of Massachusetts Bay in New 
(seal) England By the Honble. Levi Lincoln, Esqr. 
Judge of the Probate of Wills &c. in & for the County of 
Worcester. 

To Benjamin Flagg, Esqr. Nathan Perry, Gentman, and 
Samuel Miller, yeoman all of Worcester in sd. County, 

Greeting. 
Pursuant to the Acts & laws of said State relating to 
the estates of certain persons commonly called absentees 
& the power & authority to me therein given, I do hereby 
authorize & appoint you the above-named three persons a 
committee on oath, to appraise all the real estate whereof 
John Chandler late of Worcester in said County, Esqr, 
an absentee was seized & possessed since the nineteenth 
day of April A. D. 1775 at the present true value thereof 
in lawful money. 

When you have perfected your inventory you are to set 
off to Mary Chandler (the said absentee's wife) one third 
part of the said real estate, so as may be convenient for 
her, for her dower therein during her life & continuance 
within the United States of America & what you so set 
off you are to describe by plain & lasting meets and 
bounds that so confusion may be prevented upon the 
reversion of the dower. 

When you go about your work let the Agent & all parties 
concerned have notice ; & if all said parties are satisfied 
with your proceedings let them signify the same by coun- 
tersigning. 

Finally seal up this comission with your doings thereon & 
return the same with all convenient speed into the Regis- 
ters office of Probate by some or one of yourselves. 



APPENDIX 151 

Goven under my hand & seal of office at Worcester this 
twelveth day of October a. d. 1779 & in the fourth year 
of American Independence. 

Levi Lincoln, J. Prob. 

Worcester, ss. Deer. 6th 1779. Then personally ap- 
peared the within named Benja. Flagg, Nathan Perry and 
Samuel Miller and made solemn oath that in executing 
the trust reposed in them by the within warrant, that they 
acted faithfully and impartially according to their best 
skill & judgement. 

Coram, Levi Lincoln, J. Prob. 

(^Endorsement on back) 

15. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Warrant appointing Commrs. to 
appraise & set off 1/3 to wife. 
October 12, 1779. 
Oath administered Dec. 6, 1779. 

Copy. 

Attest: 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 



[Number 16.] 

We the subscribers, authorized & appointed by the Hon. 
Levi Lincoln, Esqr. Judge of Probates for the County of 
Worcester to appraise all the real estate whereof John 
Chandler late of Worcester in said County, Esqr. an 
absentee was seized & possessed since the nineteenth day 
of April, A. D. 1775, and to sett off to Mary Chandler, 
the said absentees wife, one third part of said real estate, 
so as may be convenient for her, for her dower therein 
during her life continuance within the United States of 



152 



THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 



America, have, on the day of the date hereof proceeded 
on said business, & have accordingly appraized said real 
estate as f oUoweth, viz : — 



The Homestead, whereon the said Mary Chandler 
now dwells, with the buildings thereon at 

The farm commonly called the Mill farm, now 
occupied by Josiah Gates, with the buildings 
thereon together with the Mill & Mill spot 

A pasture near Capt. Micah Johnson's 

A pasture near Capt. Moore's 

The farm occupied by Cha. Stearns & Jona. 
Gates with the buildings thereon 

A cedar swamp lying near the road leading from 
Worcester Meeting house to Oxford 

The farm whereon Rufus Chandler lately dwelt 
situated near the prison together with the 
buildings thereon 

A wood lot adjoining land of Charles Adams & 
Mill stone hill, so called containing by estima- 
tion 17 acres 

The above described lands & buildings are situ- 
ated in Worcester aforesaid 

Also a farm lying partly in Worcester & partly 

in Leicester now occupied by Amos Putnam to- 
gether with the buildings thereon at 

Two thirds of a farm lying partly in Charlton & 
partly in Oxford with two thirds of the build- 
ings thereon 

4 pews in the Meeting house in Worcester 

1 at £120 

1 100 

1 90 

1 90 



5000 



12000 

1200 

800 

15000 

120 



17700 



255 



10000 



3000 



400 



APPENDIX 153 

The following lots of land lying in Murrayfield & 

Norwich in the County of Hampshire 
No. 14 with the buildings &c. £3035 

13 180 

15 269 

35 ... 195 

36 195 

9 315 

10 315 

32 225 

28 225 

29 210 

59 105 

39 90 

56 120 

97 165 

30 210 

31 240 

33 210 

24 270 

23 100 

26 240 

27 270 

1 120 

64 240 

71 70 

6 90 

7 120 

20 100 

Letter O 90 

P 90 

Q 90 

No. 46 180 

Undivided land 180 
The right in the additional Grant of 1200 

acres adjoining No. 5 216 8770 



154 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

The following lots of land lying in Royalston viz, 

No. 103 X290 

95 230 

90 230 

52 290 

26 230 1270 

A tract of land lying & being between the Towns 
of Leominster & Westminster supposed to con- 
tain one thousand acres 1000 

Total £76515 

We then sett off to the wife of the said Absentee out of 
said real estate as her third part of the same, 
The Homestead whereon she now dwells ap- 
praised at X5000 
The pasture by Capt. M. Johnson's at 1200 
The pasture by Capt. Moore's 800 
The farm near the prison whereon Ruf us Chandler 

lately dwelt with the buildings thereon 17700 

The wood lot adjoining land of Charles Adams & 

Mill Stone hill (so called) 255 

A pew in the meeting house between those of 

T. Paine Esqr. & Capt. Saml. Moore 100 

A piece of land situated on a road leading from 
the Meeting house to Paxton, by estimation ten 
acres & bounded as follows, beginning at the 
corner of the wall on the southerly side of said 
road which is a line between land lately be- 
longing to said John Chandler, Esqr. & land of 
Wm. Jennison Stearns, beginning at the above 
mentioned road running southerly sixty rods 
on the division line between said Chandler's & 
said Stearns land to a stake & stones, from 
thence turning & running eastwardly twenty 



APPENDIX 155 

seven rods to a stake & stones, from thence 
turning & running northwardly sixty rods to a 
stake & stones from thence turning & running 
on said road twenty seven rods to the first 
mentioned bounds which we 

appraise at 450 

Making in the whole ^25505 

The lands & buildings set off as above all lie 
in the town of Worcester. 

All which so set off we judge equal to one third 
part of the value of said Absentee's real 
estate. 

Dated at "Worcester this sixth 
day of December, a. d. 1779. 

Benja. Flagg 

Nathan Perry Committee 

Samll. Miller 

We consent Mart Chandler 

Jos. Allen, Agent on the Estate of 
John Chandler, Esq. an Absentee. 

Worcester 

Worcester, ss. 

(seal) To all people to whom these presents 

shall come Levi Lincoln, Esq. Judge of the Probate 
of Wills and granting administrations as also letters of 
Agency on the estates of absentees &c., for the County 
of Worcester, in the State of the Massachusetts Bay, in 
New England, sendeth Greeting. 

Whereas the commissioners by me appointed & sworn for 
the appraisal of all the real estate whereof John Chandler, 

an absentee 

late of Worcester in the County of Worcester, Esq, /^ 
was seized and possessed since the nineteenth day of 



156 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

April in the year of our Lord seventeen hundred & 
seventy-five: As also for the setting o£f to the use and 
improvement of Mary Chandler, wife of the said absentee 
one third of the said real estate, have made the foregoing 
return into the Registry of Probate for the said County, 
by which it appears that the whole of the said estate is 
valued & appraised at the sum of seventy six thousand, 
five hundred & fifteen pounds, and the one third of the 
said estate as particularly set forth, at the sum of twenty 
five thousand, five hundred & five pounds : Know ye, 
that pursuant to the acts & laws of the said State relating 
to the settlement of the estates of intestates & the estates 
of persons commonly called absentees, & the direction, 
power & authority to me therein given, I do hereby 
accept of the doings of the said Commissioners, as con- 
tained in the return aforesaid, by them subscribed, and 
order the same to be recorded, and do assign & sett off 
to the use & improvement of the said Mary Chandler the 
said absentee's wife, every & all those pieces, parts or 
parcels of land and farms with all the buildings tene- 
ments, privileges & appurtenances thereon, or thereunto 
anyways belonging or appertaining mentioned in the said 
return as sett off to the said Mary as her third of the 
said estate, to have & to hold the hereby set off & as- 
signed premises with all the members, privileges & appur- 
tenances thereof unto her the before named Mary for & 
during the term of her natural life & continuance within 
any of the United States of America. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand & 
caused the seal of Office to be affixed this eighth day of 
February, in the year of our Lord seventeen hundred & 
eighty. 

Levi Lincoln, J. Prob. 



APPENDIX 157 

(^Endorsement on hack) 

16. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Report of Commrs. to set ofE 
Vs part of real estate 
December 6, 1779 

Decree of Court sustaining 
action of appraisers 
February 8, 1780 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register 

[Number 17.] 

The account of Jos. Allen, Agent on the estate of John 

Chandler, late of Worcester, Esqr. an absentee, so far as 

relates to the said Agent's leasing out said absentees real 

estate, lying in the County of Worcester, for the current 

year. 

The sd. Accomptant chargeth himself with 

the amount of what said real estate leased £ 

for the present year being 4083- 4- 

And prays allowance as follows, viz 
for advertising said estate for 
sale in the Worcester & two 
of the Boston papers X13-10- 

For cash pd. Mr. Bridge Ven- 
due master 11 

Expences at the house where sd. 

estate was leased 3 1 

Drawg. & executing 16 leases 
at £3 48 

4 days time & expences in ad- 



158 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

vertising the sale in different 
towns, attending the vendue 
& viewing the situation of the 
premises & receiving monies, 60 
Fees at the probate office for 
framing, examining, allowing 
& recordg. this account & for 
2 copies of the same 18 



£ 153-11 



Kemains £3929-13 

Worcester, ss. May 2d, 1780. Then personally ap- 
peared Joseph Allen, Agent as abovesaid & made solemn 
oath to the truth of the foregoing account & producd 
vouchers for the payments therein contained. I allow 
thereof by which it appears he has a ballance in his hands 
of the rents of the said Absentee's estate to the amount of 
£3929-13 which I order him to pay unto the Treasurer 
of this State agreeable to a resolve of the great & General 
court for that purpose. 

Levi Lincoln, J. Prob. 



(Endorsement on back} 



17. 



Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Acct. current of Joseph Allen, 

Agent. 
Sworn to May 2, 1780. 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(Signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 



APPENDIX 159 

[Number 18.] 

Worcester, Decemr. 25th, 1781, 
We the subscribers appointed by the Honorable the 
Judge of Probates for the County of Worcester to receive 
& examine the claims of the several creditors upon the 
estate of John Chandler, Esqr., late of Worcester in the 
County aforesaid an absentee, have attended said service 
and find there is due to the following persons the sums 
expressed Against their respective names (viz) 

No. 1. To Jonathan Gates, Jnr. Worcester 

on account X5-12- 

2. To Nathaniel Heywood, Shrewsbury 

on acct. 3-11- 

3 To John Fisk, Worcester, on note 14- 3- 

4 To Philip Donehue, Worcester on 

account 0-16- 

5 To William Trowbridge, Worcester 

on Acct. 1-14- 2 

6 To Edmond Herd, Lancaster, on 

acct. 1- 5- 8 

7 To James Lloyd, Boston, on Acct. 1- 3- 

8 To Benja. Green & Sons, Boston on 

Acct. Against John and Clark 
Chandler, Being the one half of 
the Acct. 576-14 

9 To Rufus Green, Benjamin Green 

executor Boston estate on bonds 
being the one half of the bonds 
due from John & Clark Chan- 
dler, compt. 392-6-107 
10 To Thomas Fayerwearther, Esqr. 
Cambridge, exectr. to Mary Hub- 
bard on Bond 135- 5- 



160 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

11 To George Bethone, little Cam- 

bridge on bond 276- 

12 To Daniel Bancroft, Salem on Acct. 14-18-11 

13 To Benjamin Green & Sons, Boston 

Note & Acet. 422-19- 2 

14 To Kobert Smith, Murryfield, on 

acct. 30-00 

15 To Mary Chandler, Worcester on 

acct 103- 9- 4 



£1979-18- IV2 
Charge on Commrs. 5 10 

Interest computed on Bonds notes &c. 
Jany. 1, 1782. 

The above sums are allowed by us the subscribers. 
Saml. Curtis 

Nathan Perry Commissioners. 
Saml. Brown. 

To receiving, examining, allowing & re- 
cording the return o£ the Commissioners, 
swearing the sd. commissioners and Cer- 
tificate of claims to the Governor 0-10-0 

Worcester, May 7th, 1782. The Honorable Levi Lin- 
coln, Esq, Judge of the Probate of Wills &c. in and 
for the County of Worcester, hereby accepts of and allows 
the foregoing report of the Commissioners by him ap- 
pointed to receive and examine the claims of the creditors 
to the estate of John Chandler, Esq. late of Worcester, an 
absentee, by which it appears the whole amount of the 
claims exhibited against said estate as allowed by the said 
Commissioners is the sum of £1979-18-1-2, together 
with the sum of £5-1-0 due to the said commissioners 
for their service and the sum of ten shillings due to the 



APPENDIX 161 

probate office for examining, accepting & recording the 
return of the commissioners, swearing the commission- 
ers &c and mailing a certificate of the claims to the Gov- 
enor. 

Levi Lincoln, J. Prob. 

(Endorsement on back) 

18. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler. 
Report of Saml. Curtis, et als, 
commrs. to examine claims. 
Dec. 25, 1781 
and 

Jan. 1, 1782 
Decree May 7, 1782 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow, 

Register. 



[Number 19.] 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 
Worcester, ss . 

May 20th, 1782. 

These are to Certify all whom it may concern. That in 
Pursuance of the Laws of this Commonwealth, Commis- 
sioners have been duly appointed by the Judge of Probate, 
&c. for the said County of Worcester, with full Powers 
to receive and examine the Claims on the estate of the 
Honrable John Chandler Esq. late of Worcester, in said 
County, an absentee, and to report thereon, and that said 
Commissioners have agreeable to the law made their report 
to the said Judge of Probate, on oath, by which it appears 
that the sum of eight hundred and thirty pounds, three 
shillings & six pence Vi lawful money of this Common- 



162 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

wealth, at the rate of silver at Six shillings and eight Pence 
per Ounce, is the whole amount of all the claims exhibited 
against the estate of the said absentee and that the sum 
of Three hundred & thirty five pounds 6/ I-V2 Lawful 
money, in gold and silver, is due from said estate to The 
Honorable John Erving, Esq. of Boston, one of the afore- 
said Claimants. 

Levi Lincoln, Judge of Probate. 

(Endorsement on back) 

19. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Cert, of claim of John Erving. 
May 20, 1782 

Copy. 

Attest: 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 



[Number 20.] 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Worcester, ss. 

May 20th, 1782. 

These are to Certify all whom it may concern, That in 
Pursuance of the Laws of this Commonwealth, Commis- 
sioners have been duly appointed by the Judge of Probate, 
&c for the said County of Worcester, with full Powers 
to receive and examine the claims on the estate of The 
Honorable John Chandler, Esq. late of Worcester in said 
County an absentee, and to report thereon, and that said 
commissioners have agreeable to the law made their report 
to the said Judge of Probate, on oath, by which it appears 
that the sum of one thousand nine hundred & seventy 
nine pounds 18/ l-^g lawful money of this Common- 



APPENDIX 163 

wealth, at the rate of Silver at Six shillings and eight 
pence per ounce, is the whole amount of all claims exhibited 
against the estate of the said Absentee and that the sum 
of one pound five shillings & eight pence lawful money, in 
gold and silver, is due from said estate to Edmond Herd 
of Lancaster one of the aforesaid Claimants. 

Levi Lincoln, Judge of Probate. 

(Endorsement on back) 

20. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler, 
Cert, of claim of 

Edmond Herd 
May 20, 1782. 

Copy. 

Attest: 
(signed) George H Harlow 
Register 



[Number 21.] 

Know all men by these presents, That we, Benjamin 
Greene of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, Merchant, 
David Sanderson of Petersham, Gentlemen & Samuel 
Chandler of Worcester trador, both in the County of 
Worcester & Commonwealth of Massachusetts are holden 
and stand firmly bound and obliged unto Levi Lincoln of 
Worcester in the County of Worcester, Esq ; and Judge 
of Probate of Wills, and for granting letters of adminis- 
tration for the said County of Worcester and to his suc- 
cessors in the said office, in the full and just sum of two 
thousand pounds lawful silver or gold money, of the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to be paid unto the said 
Levi Lincoln or his successors in the said Ofi&ce ; to which 
payment well and truly to Be made, we bind ourselves, 



164 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

our heirs, executors and administrators, firmly by these 
presents. 

Sealed with our seals ; dated the twentieth day of May 
Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and eighty- 
two. 

The condition of this present Obligation is such, that 
Whereas, John Fessenden, Caleb Ammidown and Jona- 
than Warner a committee appointed by the General Court 
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to make sale 
of the real estates of Conspirators and absentees, in the 
County of Worcester for the purpose of paying the debts 
of such persons agreeable to a law of this Commonwealth 
intitled, " An act to provide for the payment of Debts due 
from the Conspirators and absentees, and for the recovery 
of debts due to them," have this day, in pursuance of the 
said law, and of an Act made in Addition to the same, 
paid to Benjamin Green of Boston in the County of 
Suffolk, Merchant, the sum of nine hundred and twenty 
pounds silver money being part of his debt and claim, 
duly allowed against the estate of John Chandler, Esqr. 
late of Worcester in the County of Worcester. The said 
Committee having sold the real estate of the said John 
Chandler, Esqr. according to the said law ; 

Now, if there shall appear further just claims and debts 
against the estate of the said John Chandler so as to cause 
the same to be rendered insolvent, and the said Benjamin 
Green, David Sanderson, & Samuel Chandler, their heirs, 
executors, or administrators, or any of them, shall pay 
back the rateable proportion of the said nine hundred & 
twenty pounds of such further claim or debt, paid as afore- 
said, to the said Levi Lincoln or his successors in said 
office, so that all the creditors may receive in proportion 
to their just demands, without fraud or delay, then this 



APPENDIX 165 

obligation to be void, otherwise to remain in full force and 

virtue. 

Signed, sealed, and delivered in 
presence of 

Danl. Keyes Benja. Greene (seal) 

Joseph Washburn. David Sanderson, Jr. (seal) 

Saml. Chandlee (seal) 

(^Endorsement on back) 

21. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler. 
Bond of Indemnity of 

Benjamin Greene et als 
May 20, 1782. 

Copy. 

Attest: 
(signed) George H Harlow 
Register. 

[Number 22.] 

Worcester, ss. 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
By the Honble Joseph Dorr, Esqr. Judge of the Probate 
of wills, and for granting letters of administra- 
(seal) tion and letters of Agency on the estates of 
absentees &c. 

To Samuel Curtis, Esqr., Nathan Perrey, and Samuel 
Brown, Gent, all of Worcester in the Commonwealth 
aforesaid. Greeting. 

Whereas you were appointed by the Honbl Levi Lin- 
coln Esq. late Judge of Probate for said County to 
receive and examine the claims of the creditors on the 
estate of John Chandler, Esqr. late of Worcester, an 
absentee, and have made your report, but whereas it has 
been made to appear that there are further claims upon 



166 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

the estate of the said John which have not been exhibited, 
you are therefore, agreeable to a resolve of the great and 
General Court of the Commonwealth aforesaid. Dated 
March 7th, 1782, re-appointed commissioners with full 
power and authority to receive and examine all claims 
and how they are made out of the several creditors to 
the estate of the aforesaid John Chandler which have not 
allready been examined. You are to cause the times and 
places of your meeting to attend them for receiving and 
examining their claims to be made known and published 
by posting up the same in some publick places in the shire 
town of the County aforesaid, and by advertising the 
same in the Independence Chronicle printed by Willis in 
Boston and in the Newspapers printed in Worcester, and 
you are to make report & to present a true list to me, 
the said Judge upon oath of all such claims as to you 
upon examination appears justly due and owing from said 
absentee at or before the tenth Day of April a. d. 1783, 
When you are to make return of this commission with all 
your doings thereon and all according to the directions of 
the law. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and 
seal of office dated at Worcester the tenth day of January 
A. D. 1783, and in the seventh year of American Inde- 
pendence. 

Joseph Dorr, J. Prob. 



(^Endorsement on back) 



22. 



Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 

Re-appointment of Samuel Curtis 
et als, commrs. to examine claims 
not previously allowed. 
Jan. 10, 1783. 



APPENDIX 167 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register 

[Number 23.] 
Worcester, ss. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 
(seal) 

By the Honble. Joseph Dorr, Esqr. Judge of the Pro- 
bate of wills, & for granting letters of administration and 
letters of agency on the estates of absentees &c. 

To Samuel Salisbury & John Nazro, merchants and Eli- 
jah Dix, Physician, all of Worcester in the County <& 
Commonwealth aforesaid, Greeting. 

You are hereby nominated and appointed according to 
a late law of this Commonwealth, commissioners with full 
power & authority to receive and examine all claims, that 
have not been examined & allowed by the former commis- 
sioners and how they are made out, of the several credit- 
ors to the estate of John Chandler, late of Worcester in 
said County, Esqr. an absentee who left this Common- 
wealth and fled to our enemies for protection, since the 
19th day of April A. D. 1775, and to the end that said 
creditors may bring in their claims, you are to cause 
the times and places of your meeting to attend them for 
receiving and examining their claims to be made known 
and published by posting up the same in some publick 
places in the shire town of the County aforesaid. And 
by advertising the same in the Independant Chronicle 
printed by Willis in Boston and in the News papers 
printed in Worcester. . 

And you are to make report and to present a true list to 
me the said Judge (upon oath, of all such claims as to 



168 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

you, upon examination, appears justly due and owing 
from said absentee that have not been examined as afore- 
said, at or before the sixth day of May a. d. 1783, When 
you are to make return of this commission, with all your 
doings thereon. And all agreeable to the Directions of 
the law. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and 
seal of the said Court of Probate, Dated at Worcester 
this sixth day of February a. d. 1783 and in the seventh 
ytar of American Independance. 

Jas. Dorr, J. Prob. 

(^Endorsement on back) 

23. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Warrant appointing commrs. 
to examine claims. 
Feb. 6, 1783. 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 



[Number 24.] 

Worcester, ss. Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

By the Honbl. Joseph Dorr, Esqr. Judge of the 

(seal) Probate of Wills and for granting letters of ad- 
ministration, and letters of Agency on the estates 

of absentees &c. 

To Daniel Waldo & John Nazro, Merchants, and Elijah 
Dix Physician, all of Worcester, in the County and Com- 
monwealth aforesaid, Greeting. 
You are hereby nominated and appointed according to a 



APPENDIX 169 

late law of this Commonwealth commissioners with full 
power and authority to receive and examine all claims 
that have not been examined & allowed by the former 
commissioners, and how they are made out, of the several 
creditors to the estate of the Honbl. John Chandler, late 
of Worcester in said County, Esq, an absentee, who left 
this Commonwealth and fled to our enemies for protec- 
tion since the nineteenth day of April a. d. 1775, and to 
the end that said creditors may bring in their claims, you 
are to cause the times and places of your meeting to 
attend them, for receiving and examining their claims to 
be made known and published by posting up the same in 
some publick places in the shire town of the County 
aforesaid, and by advertising the same in the Independ- 
ant Chronicle, printed by Willis in Boston and in the 
Newspapers printed in Worcester, and you are to make 
report, & to present a true list to me, the said Judge 
upon oath, of all such claims as to you upon examination, 
appears justly due and owing, from said absentee (that 
have not been examined or approved) at or before the 
20th day of May a. d, 1783 when you are to make return 
of this commission with all your doings thereon. And all 
agreeable to the directions of the law. 

In testamony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and 
seal of the said Court of Probate. Dated at Worcester 
the 20th day of February a. d. 1783. And in the sev- 
enth year of American Independance. 

Jos. DoRE, J. Prob. 

Worcester 20 May 1783. 

In pursuance of the within commission to us directed 

we have examined the following claims on the estate of 

John Chandler, Esqr. an absentee and find due to the 

several persons, undermentioned, the followg. sum, viz : — 



170 



THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 



1783 May 6 Benjamin Greene ^6240-11- 


9 


Do Martha Greene principal 






& interest up to April 






6, 1782 


591 




Do Sarah Greene, principal 






& Ints. up to March 






26, 1781 


42- 2- 


6 


Do Gardiner Williams prin- 






cipal & interest up to 






1 May 1783 


47-15 




Do Charles & Saml. Chan- 






dler, principl. & in- 






terest up to May 1783 






with interest till paid 


125- 3- 


2 X1046-12- 5 


Advertising expences 


1-14- 





Attendance 


3-12- 


5-6-0 






1051-18- 5 


Danl. Waldo 


, 




Jno. Nazro. 


Commisons. 


Elijah Dix. 







Worcester, ss. June 3d, 1783. Personally appeared 
the within named commissioners and made solemn oath 
that in executing the trust reposed in them by virtue of 
this Commission, they acted faithfully and impartially 
according to their best skill and judgment. 

Coram Joseph Wheeler, J. Pacis. 
By order of the Hon. Judge. 



(Endorsement on back) 



24. 



Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Warrant appointing commrs. 

Feb. 20, 1783 
Return of Commrs. May 20, 1783 



APPENDIX 171 

Oath administered June 3, 1783 

Oct. 7, 1783 
Worcester, ss, Octr. 7th, 1783- 
Examined & accepted. 
Jos Dorr, J. Prob. 

This report has been certified to 
the Governor in Council. 
Pr. Jos. Dorr, J. Prob. 
Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 

[Number 25.3 

Know all men by these presents, that we, George Bethune 
of Cambridge in the County of Middlesex, Esq. & 
William Hunt of Watertown in the same County, Esqr. 
and Levi Lincoln of Worcester, Esqr are holden and 
stand firmly bound and obliged unto Joseph Dorr, of 
Mendon in the County of Worcester, Esq ; and Judge of 
Probate of Wills, and for granting letters of administra- 
tion for the said Coimty of Worcester and to his success- 
ors in the said office, in the full and just sum of five hun- 
dred and fifty-two pounds, lawful silver or Gold money, 
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to be paid unto 
the said Joseph Dorr, or his successors in the said office ; 
to which payment well and truly to be made, we bind 
ourselves, our heirs, executors and administrators, firmly 
by these presents. 

Sealed with our seals ; dated the first day of March, 
Anno Domini, one thousand seven hundred and eighty- 
three. 

The condition of this present Obligation is such, that 
whereas, John Fessenden of Rutland and Jonathan War- 
ner of Hardwick, Esquires and Caleb Amidon of Charlton, 



172 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

yeomen all in the County of Worcester, a Committee 
appointed by the General Court of the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts, to make sale of the real estates of con- 
spirators and absentees, in the County of Worcester for 
the purpose of paying the debts of such persons, agreeable 
to a law of this Commonwealth, intitled, " An act to pro- 
vide for the payment of debts, due from the conspirators 
and absentees, and for the recovery of Debts due to them," 
have this day, in pursuance of the said law, and of an Act 
made in addition to the same paid to the sd. George 
Bethume the sum of two hundred & seventy-five pounds 
being his the sd. George Bethunes debt and claim, duly 
allowed against the estate of John Chandler, Esq. late of 
Worcester in the County of Worcester an absentee. The 
said Committee having sold the real estate of the said 
John Chandler according to the said law : 

Now, if there shall appear further just claims and Debts 
against the estate of the said John Chandler so as to 
cause the same to be rendered insolvent, and the said 
George Bethune & William Hunt & Levi Lincoln their 
heirs, executors, or administrators, or any of them, shall 
pay back the rateable proportion of the said two hundred 
& seventy-six pounds of such further claim or debt paid 
as aforesaid, to the said Joseph Dorr or his successors in 
said office, so that all the creditors may receive in propor- 
tion to their just demands, without Fraud or delay, then 
this obligation to be void, otherwise to remain in full 
force and virtue. 
Signed, sealed and delivered 

in presence of Geo. Bethune (seal) 

Seth Hastings William Hunt (seal) 

Mary Ann Jones 

Elijah Demond to Levi Lincoln (seal) 

Test. 



APPENDIX 173 

(^Endorsement on bach) 

25. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler. 
Bond of Indemnity of 

George Bethume et als. 

March 1, 1783. 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 

[Number 26.] " 

Worcester, ss. October 7th, 1783. The Honorable 
Joseph Dorr, Esqr., Judge of the Probate of Wills &c. 
in and for the County of Worcester hereby accepts & 
allows the foregoing report of the commissioners reap- 
pointed to receive and examine the claims of the cred- 
itors on the estate of the Hon. John Chandler, late of 
Worcester in said County, an absentee, not heretofore 
examined and allowed by which it appears that the 
amount of the claims exhibited against said estate as 
allowed by said commissioners is the sum of X1046-12-5 
which in addition to the claims heretofore allowed is the 
whole of the claims exhibited against said estate, together 
with .£5-6-0 due to said Commissioners for their service 
in advertising attendance, &c. 

And the sum of 12/ for making out the commission ex- 
aming accepting and recording this report and making a 
certificate of the claims to his Excellency, the Govenor. 

Joseph Dorr, J. Prob. 
By order of the Hon. Judge 

Joseph Wheeler, 
Kegr. 



174 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

(Endorsement on back) 

26, 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Decree allowing report of 
Saml. Curtis et als, commrs. 
Oct. 7th 1783. 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 

Register. 

[Number 27.] 
Worcester, ss. 

The acct. of Joseph Allen, Agent on the estate of John 
Chandler, Esqr. an absentee. 

1777 The said accomptants chargeth himself as follows, 

viz: 
June To cash reed, for the sale of a number 

of cattle at Vendue <£195- 9- 6 

To cash reed, of the Comte. of Corre- 
spondce. &c of the Town of Worces- 
ter 86-14- 3 
1778. To Sundry obligations by 
the Comtee. aforesd. & 
which have been paid to 
Febry. said agent viz : — 
1 against Charles Stearns 

& Jona. Gates for X20- 0- 
1 against the same persons 

for 57 

1 against Phineas Jones 

for 13- 6- 8 

1 against do 

for 25 



APPENDIX 175 

1 against John Cunning- 
ham for 11- 8 

1 against do for 54-13 

1 against Josiah Gates 

for 50 231- 7- 8 



Deer. To cash reed of the ComF of Murray- 
field for monies in their hands be- 
longing to sd. estate 53- 8- 8 

To cash reed, of the Comt. for a pew 

leased by them to Capt. Stanton 1- 4 

1779 To do reed, for lease of 3 pews com- 
mencing April 1778 ending April 
1779 11- 5 

To do reed, of Phs. Jones for lease of 
farm commencing April 1778 & 
ending in April 1779 40- 

To do reed, of Charles Stearns & Jona. 
Gates for lease of farm commencing 
& endg. as before 120 

To do reed, of Josiah Gates for lease of 
a farm commencing & ending as 
before 41 

To do reed, of John Cunningham for 
lease of the house &c. which he oc- 
cupied com. & endg. as before 40 

To do reed, of Benja. Kich for lease of 
part of a farm in Charlton, com- 
mencing & endg. as before 14 

X834- 9- 1 
And prays allowance as follows, viz, 

For counterfeit Hampshire 
bill reed, of the commit- 
tee of Worcester X5- 0- 

For time, expences & trou- 



176 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

ble in venduing cattle, 
advertizemts. receiving 
monies & paying the 
same again 5 pr. cent 41-10- 
1777 
June For one journey from Lei- 
cester to Worcester to 
take letters of agency 0-10 

1 For cash paid at the pro- 

bate office 10 

2 For cash paid William 

Taylor for rates 10- 2- 5 

For Journey to Worcester, 
procuring cattle from 
sundry places & assist- 
ance in driving them 18 

3 For cash paid Phinehas 

Jones, keepg. cattle 3- 8- 2 

4. For do pd. Chs. Stearns 

& Jona. Gates, ditto 2 

For do paid Mr. Baldwin 
for searching records & 
making extracts of the 
purchases & sales of real 
estate by said Chandler 8 

For cash pd. Selectmen of 
Worcester for Apprais- 
ing the value of rents in 
1778, by order of the 
Genl. Court 6- 0- 

For cash pd. the Comtee. of 
Correspce. of Worcester 
for their trouble in man- 
aging the estate before 
the appointment of an 
Agent 16- 0- 



APPENDIX 177 

5. For cash paid Wm. Moor, 
constable of Murrayfd. 
for taxes 26- 2- 8 

6 pd. Phinehas Jones 3-8-2 

7 paid Obadiah Newton 20 

8 Paid Zebulon Kose Con- 

stable of Norwich, for 

taxes 3-15 

9 Paid Thaddeus Newton 44-16- 4 

10 Paid Henry Bond, Con- 

stable of Royalston for 

taxes 2- 8 

11 Paid Thos. Stearns, Con- 

stable of Leominster for 

do 2- 7- 2 

12 Paid Wm. Forbes, Con- 

stable of Norwich for do 0-12- 9 

13 Paid Wm. Pyncheon, 

Esqr. 12 

14 Paid Aaron Bascom for 

Constable of Murray- 
field, for taxes 41-12- 2 
15. Paid Phinehas Jones 1-10- 

16 Paid John Fry & others 

appraisers at Royalston 6- 4- 
1779 

17 Paid Saml. Curtis & others 

appraisers 9 

18 Paid Ebenezer Wis wall 3 

19 Paid John Kirkland, Esq. 

& others appraisers in 
the County of Hamp- 
shire 47 
8 days time & expences & 
horse hire in May 1778 
on journey to Murray- 



178 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

field & Norwich in the 
County of Hampshire, at 
M pr. day 32 

3 days time & expences 
attending appraisers in 
Worcester, X4 pr. day, 
expences of appraisers 
M 16 

4 days time & expences at- 
tending appraisers at 
Royalston, in Deer. 1778 

at £6 24 

2 days time & expences at- 
tendg. appraisers at Roy- 
alston Octo. 1778 at £5 10 

Expences of appraisers at 
Royalston 1 

20 Hampshire money &c 

which I now have 5-16 

A journey to Roxbury & 
attending upon the Gen- 
eral Court in April 1778 
for orders respecting the 
leasing of absentees es- 
tates 6 days at 4 pr. day 
including expences 1/2 is 12 

Attending on the selectmen 
of Worcester & shewing 
the estates to be ap- 
praised according to or- 
der of the Genl. Court, 
1 day & expences <£4 1/2 
is 2 



409- 2-10 
£425- 6- 3 



APPENDIX 179 

Balance being X425 on May 3d, 1779 

is in silvir X34-13- 3 

The said accomptant charges himself 

with balance brought up (in silver) X34-13- 3 

Also with the following obligations 
&c now in his possession 

viz : — against Ephraim Curtis for rent 
of a shop in Worcester for the years 
1776, 1777, & 1778 4- 2- 4 

Against Levi Lincoln Esqr. for rent 

of an office for the same years 10-19 

Against Nahum Willard for rent of a 

pew in 1776 1- 

Eecd. of John Kirkland, Esq. 55 old 

currency, June 27, 1780 16 

Reed, by do of the Committee in Mur- 

rayfield for rent June 27, 1780 15- 3 

Reed, of Paul Gates rent for 1781 
leased by auction by order of Com- 
tee. of Genl. Court on forfeited es- 
tates 25- 
Daniel Bigelow's Bond for rent due in 1777 18 



£95- 5-10 



And further prays allowance as fol- 
lows ; — viz, 

For my trouble & expences 
in settling receiving & 
paying the sum of 
£56-10-3 venduing &c 2-16- 3 

For what was due from 
Ephrm. Curtis he hav- 
ing died & left no es- 
tate 4- 2- 4 



180 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 



- f>>:^. - cit the pr o- 
ba l e umcc Msij, 1779 
X6-2-6 old currency ^ -0 — &— 8- 

22 Paid Amos Putnam 

£28-17 O. Currency 14 3 

24 Paid Stearns & Gates £90, 

O. currency 2 10 

25 Paid the Comrs. who set 

ofe Mrs. Chandlers 3d? 3 11 4 
Paid the Comrs. expences 

while on sd. business 16 

My own time & expences 

while on said business, 

7 days & my horse part 

of said time at 15/ 5 5 

One journey to Leominster 

of myself in June 1781 

respecting trespasses 

said to be committed on 

said Chandler's land 

there, 2 days & horse & 

expences 1 10 

Attce. at the probate office 

for settlemt. of this ac- 
count 4 
To 3 warts, of apprize- 

ment 6 6 

Carried over £21 15 8 

Debt. Brot. forward £95- 5-10 

Credit Brot. do £21-15- 8 

To swearing the appraizers 10 

To examining, swearing to 

& recording the inven- 
tory 18 
To copying the Inventory 12 



APPENDIX 181 

To Warrant to set off the 

wives 3ds 3 

To swearing the commis- 
sioners 1 

To examing, allowing, 
copying and recording 
the return of the com- 
missioners to set off the 
wives third 11 

To Commission to examine 
the claims of the credit- 
ors 2 

To swearing the commis- 
sioners 1 

To appointing an Atty. to 

Defend said estate 3 

To making allowance to the 
wife out of the personal 
estate copying & record- 
ing the same 7 

To receiving examining 
and recording the report 
of the commissioners for 
examg. claim & making 
report thereof to his ex- 
cellency the Govenor 9 

To do upon the second 

commr. 13 6 

To framing examg. copying 
& recording this account 
conres. the agent &c. 13 X26-10- 2 

Balance due X68-15- 8 

N. B. The one half of the personal estate contained in 
an inventory exhibited into the probate was delivered to 



182 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

the wife of said Absentee by order of the Judge of Pro- 
bate & the remainder was reed, by the Committee of 
Confiscation for the County of Worcester. 

Worcester, ss. February 3d, 1874 Personally appeared 
Joseph Allen, Esq. Agent as above and made solemn 
oath to the truth of the foregoing account & produced 
vouchers for the payments therein contained. I allow 
thereof, by which it appears he has a balance in his hands 
the sum of £68-15-8 which sum I have reed, of the said 
Agent in full, and he is thereupon discharged. 

(Endorsement on back) 

27. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Final account of Joseph Allen, 
Agent 
Feby. 3, 1784. 

Copy. 

Attest: 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register 



[Number 28.] 

Worcester, Apl. 14th, 1785. 
Recvd. of Joseph Wheeler, Esqr. Reg. of Probate for the 
County of Worcester, a certificate of the claim upon the 
estate of Jno. Chandler, Esq. absentee in favour of Thos. 
Fayweather, Esq. of Cambridge. 

Pr. David Sanderson, Junk. 

{Endorsement on back) 

28. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Receipt for Cert, of claim of 
Thomas Fayweather. 
Apr. 14, 1785. 



APPENDIX 183 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 

[Number 29.] 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

In Senate June 15th, 1785. 
On the petition of Thadeus & William McCarty. 

Resolved that the prayer of their petition be so 
far granted as that the Judge of Probate for the County 
of Worcester be & he hereby is authorized & empowered 
to appoint commissioners to examine the claim of the said 
Thadeus & William Maccarty against the estate of John 
Chandler late of Worcester, absentee ; & in case the said 
claim shall be allowed by the said commissioners & ap- 
proved of by the said judge, the same shall be paid out 
of that part of the said Chandler's estate that was set off 
for his wife's dower after the expiration of two years from 
the eleventh day of February 1785 that being the term 
for which the children of the said John Chandler are 
entitled to the income & improvement of the said estate 
by an order of the General Court of the 11th of February 
last. 

Sent down for Concurrence, 

Saml. Phillips ye. Presidt. 
In the House of Representatives 15th June, 1785. 
Read & Concurred. 

Approved Nathl. Gorham Spkr. 

James Bowdoim. 

A true copy, Attest. 

John Avert Junr. Secretary. 



184 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

(^Endorsement on back) 

29. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Certified copy of resolve of 
Legislature authorizing 
Judge of probate to appoint 
commrs. to examine claim of 
Thaddeus & William Maccarty. 
June 15, 1785. 

Copy. 

Attest : 
(signed) George H Harlow 
Register. 

[Number 30.] 
Worcester, ss. 

(seal) Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

To Mr. Daniel Waldo Mercht. Elijah Dix, physician 
& John Nazro Mercht. all of Worcester in said County, 

Greeting. 
Pursuant to a resolve of the great and general Court of 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Dated June 15th, 
1785. 

You are hereby appointed to be commissioners, on 
oath, to receive and examine the claim of Doctr. Thaddeus 
Maccarty & Mr. William Maccarty, executors on the last 
will and testament of the Revd. Thaddeus Maccarty late 
of Worcester in said County, deceased, against the estate 
of the Honble. John Chandler, Esqr. late of sd. Worcester 
an absentee, you are to give notice to the said Thads. & 
William of the time & place of your meeting to attend 
them for that purpose. 



APPENDIX 185 

And you are to make return of this warrant with your 
doings thereon unto the Registers office of Probate in the 
same County as soon as conveniently may be. 
Given under my hand & seal of office this 1st day of 
June A. D. 1787. 

Jos. Dorr, J Prob. 

Worcester, ss. July 9th, 1787. Messueurs David 
Waldo, Elijah Dix & John Nazro within named person- 
ally appeared & severally made oath, that in receiving & 
examining the within mentioned claim, they will act faith- 
fully & impartially according to their best skill & judg- 
ment. 

Before me, Jos. Allen, Jus. Pacis. 

Worcester, ss. July 10th 1787. By virtue of the within 
warrant we the subscribers, have examined the claim of 
Doctr. Thads. & William Maccarty, Exors. to the estate 
of the Revd. Thads. Maccarty, and it appears to us that 
the estate of the within mentioned John Chandler is en- 
debted to said estate twenty three pounds, thirteen shil- 
lings & eight pence, viz for sd. Chandlers note 

not on Interest X20- 9- 8V4 

For copy of Court resolve 3 

For commrs. warrant 3 

For their journey to Boston 
& attendg. Court 2 

Cost for the Commissioners 18 



£23-13- 8V4 
Danl. Waldo. 
John Nazro. 
Elijah Dix. 



186 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

(Endorsement on back) 

30. 
Case 10938 Series A. 

John Chandler 
Warrant appointing commrs. to 
examine Maccaxty claim. 
June 1, 1787. 
Oath administered July 9, 1787 
Return of Commrs. July 10, 1787. 

Copy 

Attest : 
(signed) George H. Harlow 
Register. 



B. 

A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT OF THE RECORDS OF 
THE CASES OF THE STATE VS. CHANDLER UNDER 
THE CONFISCATION ACT IN 1780 BROUGHT IN 
THE INFERIOUR COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. 

[Number 31.] 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 
Worcester, ss. 

At an Inferiour Court of Common Pleas begun and 
held at Worcester within and for the County of Worces- 
ter, on the second Tuesday of December, being the twelfth 
day of said month, Annoque Domini One thousand seven 
hundred and eighty, by Adjournment from the first Tues- 
day of the same December, by a Resolve of the Great and 
General Court. 
Present, 

The Honble. Moses Gill, Esq ; 1 Justices 

The Honble. Joseph Dorr, Esq ; > of said 

and Joseph Wheeler, Esq. (special) j County. 

State vs. Chandler. 

Levi Lincoln of Worcester, in the County of Worces- 
ter, Esqr., Attorney for the late Government & people of 
the State of the Massachusetts Bay, in New England, 
now Commonwealth of Massachusetts, specially appointed 
for this purpose by Robert Treat Paine, Esqr. their At- 
torney General in their behalf, comes into Court further 
to prosecute his Complaint against John Chandler, late of 
said Worcester, Esqu. 



188 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

In that the said John Chandler, since the nineteenth 
day of April, in the year of our Lord Seventeen hundred 
& seventy five, viz. on the first day of April, a. d. One 
thousand seven hundred & seventy nine, at London, in 
the Kingdom of Great Britain, levied War, & conspired 
to levy War, against the Government & people of this 
Province, Colony & State, & of the United States ; and 
did then & there adhere to the King of Great Britain 
& to his fleets & armies, enemies of this said Province, 
Colony & State, & of the United States, & then & there 
did give them aid & comfort. And that the said John 
Chandler before the said nineteenth day of April viz. on 
the said first day of January, in the year of our Lord 
Seventeen hundred & seventy five, & after the arrival of 
Thomas Gage Esqr. late Commander in Chief of all his 
Britannic Majesty's forces in North America, at Boston, 
the metropolis of this State, did withdraw from Worces- 
ter aforesaid, his usual place of Habitation within this 
State, into the said Town of Boston with an intention to 
seek & obtain the protection of the said Thomas Gage, & 
of the said forces then & there being under his Com- 
mand. And that the said John Chandler, since the said 
nineteenth day of April, viz., on the first day of March 
in the year of our Lord Seventeen hundred & seventy 
nine, did withdraw without the permission of the Legis- 
lative or Executive Authority, of this or any other of the 
said United States, to the Kingdom of Great Britain 
then being under the acknowledged authority & dominion 
of the said King & that the said John Chandler since the 
said first day of January & the said first day of March 
hath not returned into any of the said United States & 
been received as a subject thereof. And that the said 
John Chandler, by reason of the premises, has freely re- 
nounced all civil & political relation to each & every of 
the said United States & is become an Alien. And that 



APPENDIX 189 

the said John Chandler before the said nineteenth day of 
April, viz. on the said first day of January was seized & 
possessed, & now intitled to be seized & possessed, & to 
have, hold & demand to his own use a tract of land lying 
about three miles Southwestwardly from the meeting 
house in Koyalston, containing by estimation two hundred 
acres, being Lot No. 26 and bounded Eastwardly on Lot 
No. 31, Southwardly partly on Lot No. 25, & partly on 
Lot No. 22, Westwardly on Lot No. 21, Northwardly 
partly on Lot No. 20, & partly on Lot No. 27. — Also 
another tract of land situate about two miles & half 
Southerly from the meeting-house in Royalston aforesaid, 
containing by estimation two hundred acres, being Lot 
No. 52, & bounded as follows, beginning at the North- 
west corner of the same by a stake & stones, & then run- 
ning South on Thomas Fairweather's land to a stake & 
stones on Athol line, then East by Athol line to a stake 
& stones on land of the heirs of Nahum Greene, then 
North by said Greene's land to a stake & stones on Jon- 
athan Sibley's land, then West by said Sibley's land to a 
stake of stones, then on said Sibley's land to a stake of 
stones on Ebenezer Elliot's land, then West by said El- 
liot's land to the bounds first mentioned. — Also another 
tract of land lying in the Northeastwardly part of said 
Koyalston, about three miles & an half from the said 
meeting-house, containing by estimation two hundred 
acres, & being Lot No. 91, — boimded as follows, begin- 
ning: at the North west corner of said tract at a stake & 
stones on the old Province line, then running South by 
Lot No. 89 & Lot No. 88 & Lot No. 87 to a stake & 
stones on land of Michael French, then turning & run- 
ning by said French's land to a stake & stones, then turn- 
ing & running North by land of Francis Chase & Jonas 
Thomson to the State line to a stake & stones, then West- 
wardly on the State line to the first mentioned bounds. — 



190 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Also anotlier tract of land lying in the Northeast cor- 
ner of said Royalston, containing by estimation two hun- 
dred acres, being Lot No. 95, & bounded as follows, — 
beginning at a stake & stones on the Northeast corner 
of Peirpoint's Farm, then running North on land of John 
Hancock Esq. to a stake & stones on the State line, then 
Westwardly, on the State line to a stake & stones to the 
corner of Lot No. 94, then running South by said Lot to 
a stake & stones on Peirpoint's farm, & then running 
East on said Farm to the first mentioned bounds. — Also 
another tract of land lying in a place called E. Royalston 
Leg. being Lot No. 103, situate North from Winchendon 
meeting house about three miles & an half, containing by 
estimation two hundred acres, & bounded as follows, viz., 
beginning at the Southwest corner at a stake & stones, 
then running East on Winchendon North line to a stake 
& stones, then turning & running North by Lot No. 104 
to a stake & stones on the State line, then running West 
on the State line to a stake & stones, then turning & 
running South by Lot No. 102, to the first mentioned 
bounds. — Also one ninth part part of Lot No. 22, con- 
taining by estimation two hundred acres. — Also one 
ninth part of Lot No. 50, containing about ninety acres. — 
Also one ninth part of Lot No. 70, containing by estima- 
tion two hundred acres. — All the above said tracts or 
Lots of Land lying in Royalston, in the County afores'd. 
& bounded as above respectively described & as the same 
may be bounded, plotted & recorded in the Proprietors 
Book of Records in said Royalston, with all the privileges, 
appurtenances & Easements to the several tracts or Lots 
of land belonging to him & his heirs forever. — 

Also that the said John Chandler, since the said nine- 
teenth day of April, viz. on the said first day of March, 
& the said first day of April, was seized & possessed & 
was intitled to be seized & possessed & to have, hold & 



APPENDIX 191 

demand to his own use, each & every of the above de- 
scribed tracts & Lots of land, with all the appurtenances, 
privileges & easements to the said several tracts or lots 
of land belonging to him & his heirs forever. — And 
the said Levi Lincoln further alledges that by force of 
the premises & of the law of this State intituled "An Act 
for confiscating the Estates of certain persons commonly 
called Absentees " the said several tracts & Lots of land 
with their appur'nces. ought to escheat, enure & accrue 
to the sole use, benefit & behoof of the Government & 
people afores'd : therefore praying the advice of the 
Court herein the premises, & that due process of law in 
this behalf may be made — as by said Complaint on file 
appears. — 

Which Complaint was exhibited to the Justices of the 
Inferiour Court of Common Pleas, begun & held at 
Worcester, within & for the County of Worcester, on the 
first Tuesday of September, Anno Domini One thousand 
seven hundred & seventy nine ; — Thereupon it was con- 
sidered & ordered by the Court that the said Complaint 
be continued to the next Inferiour Court of Common 
Pleas, to have been holden at Worcester, within & for 
the County of Worcester, on the first Tuesday of Decem- 
ber then next following, & which by Adjournment of the 
Great & General Court was held on the second Tuesday 
of the same December, & that the Clerk of this Court 
make out a notification thereof containing a description 
of the lands, tenements & hereditaments set forth in said 
Complaint, that all persons claiming sd. said Estate, or 
any part thereof, may then & there enter their said claim. 
At which last mentioned term Jonathan Rice, one of the 
Deputy Sheriffs within & for said County, made return 
of said Notification issued agreeably to the said Order in 
the words following, viz. — " Worcester ss. November 3d, 
1779. In Obedience to the within Warrant to me directed, 



192 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

there being no Mansion house on the above described 
demanded premises, I have posted up an attested Copy of 
the foregoing Notification in a publick place in the Town 
in which the above described premises lie, — and have 
also left an attested copy of said Notification at the last 
& usual place of abode within this State of the within 
named John Chandler as the Law directs — Jonathan 
Eice, Dep'y. Sheriff." — And the said Levi Lincoln 
Esqr. appeared further to prosecute the said Complaint, 
& no person appearing to take upon him the Defence of 
this Suit, the same was further continued by order of 
Court to the Inferiour Court of Common Pleas, begun & 
held at Worcester, within & for the County of Worcester, 
on the last Tuesday of March last, at which last men- 
tioned term the said Levi Lincoln Esqr. appeared further 
to prosecute the said Complaint, & John Sprague, Esqr. 
appeared to take uj3on him the Defence of this Suit, & 
thereupon the same was further continued by order of 
Court to the next Inferiour Court of Common Pleas, 
begun & held at Worcester, within & for said County, on 
the second Tuesday of June last, when and where the 
said Levi Lincoln, Esqr. appeared further to prosecute 
the said Complaint, & the said John Sprague, Esqr. to 
take upon him the Defence of the same. Thereupon the 
said Complaint was further continued by order of Court 
to the Inferiour Court of Common Pleas, begun & held at 
Worcester, within & for sd. County, on the first Tuesday 
of September last, when & where the said Levi Lincoln 
Esqr. appeared further to prosecute the said Complaint, 
& the said John Sprague Esqr. to defend the same. 
Thereupon the said Complaint was further continued by 
order of Court to the Court of Common Pleas to have 
been held at Worcester, within & for the County of 
Worcester on the first Tuesday of December instant & 
which by a resolve of the Great & General Court was 
adjourned to the present time. — 



APPENDIX 193 

And now neither the said John Sprague Esqr. nor any- 
other person appearing to take upon him the Defence of 
this Suit, Proclamation is made for any person or persons 
who have claim to the Estate in the said Complaint men- 
tioned, described & demanded, either in their own right, 
on on the part & behalf of the said John Chandler, or of 
any person whomsoever, to come & defend this Suit, & no 
person appearing to take upon him the defence of this 
Suit : — It is by the Court therefore Considered that the 
said John Chandler is Guilty in manner & form as in the 
said Complaint is alledged against him, & that the lands, 
tenements & hereditaments described in the said Com- 
plaint, with the appurtenances, privileges & easements 
thereunto belonging are forfeited, & do escheat, enure & 
accrue to the sole use & benefit of the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts ; and that a writ of habere facias posses- 
sionem issue in behalf of the Commonwealth aforesaid to 
cause them to be seized & possessed of the same. 



[Number 32.] 
State vs. Chandler. 

Levi Lincoln, of Worcester, in the County of Worces- 
ter, Esqr. Attorney for the late Government & People of 
the State of Massachusetts Bay, in New-England, now 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, specially appointed for 
this purpose by Robert Treat Paine, Esqr., their Attorney- 
General in their behalf, comes into Court further to prose- 
cute his Complaint against John Chandler, late of said 
Worcester, Esquire. — 

For that the said John Chandler, since the nineteenth 
day of April in the year of our Lord Seventeen hundred 
& seventy five, viz. on the first day of April, in the year 
of our Lord Seventeen hundred & seventy nine, at Lon- 



194 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

don, In the Kingdom of Great Britain, levied War & 
conspired to levy war against the Government & People 
of this Province, Colony & State, & against the other 
United States ; and that the said John Chandler did then 
& there adhere to the King of Great Britain & to his 
fleets & armies, enemies of this Province, Colony & State, 
& of the United States, & did then & there give them 
aid & comfort. — 

And that the said John Chandler, before the said nine- 
teenth day of April, viz. on the first day of January, in 
the year of our Lord Seventeen hundred & seventy five & 
after the arrival of Thomas Gage, Esqr., late Commander 
in Chief of all his Britannic Majesty's forces in North 
America, at Boston, the Metropolis of this State, did with- 
draw from Worcester aforesaid, his usual place of habita- 
tion within this State, into the said Town of Boston with 
an Intention to seek & obtain the protection of the said 
Thomas Gage & of the said forces then & there being 
under his Command. And that the said John Chandler 
since the said nineteenth day of April, viz. on the first day 
of March, in in the year of our Lord Seventeen hundred 
<fe seventy nine, did withdraw, without the permission of 
the Legislative or Executive authority of this or any other 
of the said United States, into the Kingdom of Great 
Britain, then being under the acknowledged authority and 
dominion of the said King of Great Britain. And that 
the said John Chandler since the said first day of January 
& the said first day of March, hath not returned into any 
of the said United States & been received as a Subject. — 
And that the said John Chandler, by reason of the pre- 
mises, hath freely renounced all civil & political relation 
to each & every of the said United States & is become 
an Alien. And that the said John Chandler, before the 
said nineteenth day of April, viz. on the said first day 
of December, was seized & possessed, & was entitled to be 



APPENDIX 195 

seized & possessed & to have, hold & demand to his own 
use, benefit & behoof a tract of land situate about thirty- 
rods Northeastwardly of the meeting house in Worcester, 
containing by estimation about one acre, more or less, & 
bounded as follows, viz. — Northwesterly on the Country 
road, Southeastwardly on Ministerial land. Southwesterly 
on the Town Common, or road leading from said meeting 
house to the Town of Grafton, together with one large 
upright dwelling-house, two barns, a Corn-barn, a large 
Store & a Tenement formerly improved as an Office, as 
also other out buildings standing on the same. — Also 
another tract of land situate about two miles from the 
meeting house aforesaid. South on the road leading from 
Worcester to the town of Sutton, containing about two 
hundred acres by estimation, more or less, commonly 
called or known by the name of the Mill Farm, & bounded 
Westwardly on said Road, Southwardly partly on Gardner 
Chandler's land, partly on Blackstone River, & partly on 
Nathan Perry's land, Eastwardly partly on said Perry's 
land & partly on Joshua Whitney's land, — as the wall 
now stands, until it comes to the land belonging to the 
heirs of lyrus Rice, Northwardly partly on land belonging 
to the said lyruS Rice, partly on Richard Pratt's land, 
partly on land belonging to the Estate of James Put- 
nam, Esqr. an Absentee, & partly on the land belonging 
to Absalom Rice & Jonathan Rice, & partly on land of 
Jonathan Grout, until it comes to the road, consisting of 
mowing, tillage, pasturing, orcharding & wood land, with 
buildings thereon, consisting of one upright dwelling- 
house, & barn & other out buildings. — Also another tract 
of land situate about two miles South of the meeting- 
house, aforesaid, & situate on the Westerly side of said 
road leading from Worcester to Sutton, containing fifty 
eight by estimation, more or less, and bounded as follows ; 
Northwardly on land of Jonathan Grout, Southwardly & 



196 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Westwardly on land of Joshua Whitney & Gardner Chan- 
dler, Eastwardly on said Road leading to Sutton, together 
with two Grist Mills thereon standing. — Also tracts 
of woodland situate about two miles Northeasterly of the 
Court house, containing seventeen acres by estimation 
more or less, & bounded as follows — Eastwardly on land 
belonging to the Widow Holbrook, Southwardly on 
Charles Adam's land, Northwardly & Westwardly on the 
Town land upon Mill Stone Hill, so called. — Also a tract 
of land being a Cedar Swamp, situate about two miles & 
an half Southwestwardly from the Meeting-house afore- 
said, containing by estimation ten acres more or less, & 
bounded as follows — Eastwardly, Southwardly & West- 
wardly on Noah Jones's land & Northwardly on William 
Mahon's land. 

Also a tract of pasture land situate Northwestwardly 
from the Meeting house aforesaid, near to Capt. Miah 
Johnson's Dwelling house, containing by estimation about 
Sixty acres, & bounded Northwardly on said Johnson's 
land, — on Colo. Gardner Chandler's land, Westwardly 
& Southwardly on William Young's land & Eastwardly 
partly on said Young's land, partly on John Barnard's 
land & partly on Joshua Symond's land. — Also another 
tract of pasture land situate about three miles North- 
westwardly from the Meeting house aforesaid, near to 
Capt. Samuel Mower's dwelling house, containing by esti- 
mation twenty five acres more or less, & bounded East- 
wardly on said Mower's land. Southwardly on Amos 
Wheeler's land, Westwardly on David Mower's land, & 
Northwardly on John Mower's land. — Also another 
tract of land situate about Sixty rods Southwestwardly 
from the meeting house aforesaid, on the Country road 
leading to Leicester containing by estimation three hun- 
dred & ten acres more or less, & bounded as follows, viz. 
Southeastwardly on the said Country road, Southwest- 



APPENDIX 197 

wardly on a road leading from the said Country road 
to Jacob Hemenway's dwelling house, commonly called 
Heminway's road, as far as beaver-brook, & then turning 
& running on Beaver Brook on said Heminway's land 
until it comes to Joseph Blair's land, & then running 
Eastwardly on said Blair's land, until it comes to Jenni- 
son Steam's land, & running Eastwardly on said Sterne's 
land until it comes to a corner in said Sterne's land, & 
then running Northwardly on said Sterne's land until it 
comes to Tatnick road, & then running Eastwardly on 
said Eoad until it comes to Gardner Chandler's land, & 
then running Southwardly on sd. Gardner Chandler's 
land until it comes to a Corner in said Chandler's land, 
& then running Eastwardly on sd. Gardner Chandler's 
land until it comes to another corner in sd. Gardner 
Chandler's land, & then turning & running Southwardly 
on said Gardner Chandler's land until it comes to another 
corner in said Gardner Chandler's, & then turning & 
running Eastwardly on sd. Gardner Chandler's land until 
it comes to William Johnson's land, & then turning & 
running Southeasterly on said Johnson's land until it 
comes to the land belonging to the heirs of James Brown, 
late of said Worcester, then turning & running South- 
wardly on said heirs land to a corner of the said land, 
then turning & running Eastwardly on said heirs land 
until it comes to the Country road aforesaid, together 
with one two storied dwelling-house, & two barns stand- 
ing thereon, about one hundred & fifty acres being under 
improvement, and consisting of pasturing, mowing, tillage, 
& orcharding, & the rest woodland. 

Also another tract of land lying Southwardly of the 
said Heminway's road, & containing by estimation about 
twenty acres, & bounded as follows, viz. — Northwardly 
on said Road, Eastwardly partly on land of Ezra Jones 
& partly on land belonging to the heirs of Zebediah Eice, 



198 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Southwardly on Gardner Chandler's land, Westwardly 
on Capt. Ebenezer Lovel's land — about four acres being 
under improvement, & consisting of pasturing & orchard- 
ing & the rest woodland. — Also another tract of land, 
the Westwardly corner of which being situate about thirty 
rods East of the Court-house in said Worcester, contain- 
ing by estimation One hundred & ninety-five acres, more 
or less, & bounded as follows, viz. Westwardly & North- 
wardly on the Country road. Northwardly & Westwardly 
on land of Timothy Paine, Esqr., Northwardly on land 
of the Hon. John Hancock, Esqr., Eastwardly on land of 
Charles Adams, Southeastwardly partly on land of Thomas 
Wheeler, partly on land of Stephen Salisbury, & partly 
on land belonging to the Estate of James Putnam, Esqr., 
an Absentee, Southwardly on Gardner Chandler's land, 
Westwardly & Southwardly on the land belonging to 
Daniel Heywood, & Westwardly by various lines, partly 
on land belonging to the heirs of Abel Heywood, partly 
on Joseph Lynde's land, & partly on Colo. Timothy 
Bigelow's land until it comes to the Country road afore- 
said, consisting of mowing, ploughing, pasturing, orchard- 
ing & woodland, together with one large two storied 
dwelling-house, one large barn, a corn barn, a tenement 
formerly improved as an Office, another tenement now 
improved as a Tailor's Shop, & other buildings all stand- 
ing on the said tract of land. All the above mentioned 
tracts of land lying in Worcester aforesaid, bounded as 
above respectively described, & as the same may be 
bounded according to his right & title thereto. — Also 
another tract of land lying partly in said Worcester & 
partly in Leicester, in the County of Worcester, situate 
about three miles from the Meeting house, in said Worces- 
ter, containing by estimation about three hundred acres 
more or less, & bounded as follows, viz. beginning at the 
Northwestwardly corner of Noah Jone's Homestead & 



APPENDIX 199 

running Westwardly on the Country road until it comes 
to the Leicester Line, & then turning & running South- 
erly on Nathan Sargeant's land, it being the Western 
line of Worcester, & then turning & running into Leices- 
ter Westerly on said Nathan Sargeant's land until it 
comes to Robert Henry's land, & then turning & run- 
ning Southerly on Robert Henry's land until it comes to 
land belonging to the heirs of Thomas Dennie, late of 
said Leicester, then turning & running Eastwardly on 
land belonging to the heirs of the said Thomas Denny, 
& then turning & running Southwardly on said heirs 
land, & then turning & running Eastwardly until it 
strikes the Town line, & then turning & running North- 
wardly on the land of the said heirs, & then turning & 
running Eastwardly on land of John Griggs, & then 
turning & running Northwardly partly on said Grigg's 
land, & partly on Jonathan Phillip's land until it comes 
to the Town Road, & then running Westwardly on said 
Noah Jones land & then turning & running Northwardly 
on said Noah Jones' land to the first mentioned bound, 
consisting of mowing, tillage, pasturing, orcharding & 
woodland, together with one upright dwelling house & 
barn standing on the same. — Also two third parts of 
two hundred acres of land lying partly in Oxford & 
partly in Charlton, both in the County of Worcester in 
common & undivided with one Benjamin Rich — said 
two hundred acres being bounded as follows — South- 
wardly on Coxe's land, so called, Westwardly on John 
Stephens's land being Lot No. 5, Northwardly on Thomp- 
son's land, so called, & Eastwardly on said Stephen's 
land, consisting of mowing, ploughing, pasturing, orchard- 
ing & woodland, with an old Mansion house & old barn 
standing on the same. — Also a pew in the Worcester 
Meeting house, situate on the lower floor of the same & 
adjoining to the North end of the pew of Timothy Paine, 



200 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Esqr. & being the second walled pew North of the front 
(Joors. — Also another pew in said Meeting house, situate 
on the lower floor & in the Southwesterly corner of said 
Meeting house, & adjoining to the South side of the pew 
now improved by Colo. Thomas Wheeler, & the West 
side of the pew now improved by one Noyes. — Also 
another pew situate on the lower floor of said Meeting 
house, being the second wall pew West of the South 
doors, adjoining to the East end of the pew improved by 
said Noyes, & the West end of the pew occupied by 
Chapin & others. — Also three fifths of another pew 
situate on the lower floor of said Meeting house, being 
the wall pew adjoining to the North side of the pulpit & 
to the South side of the pew possessed by Daniel Hey- 
wood & others, with all the privileges, appurtenances & 
easements to each & every of the above described tracts 
of land to each & every of the buildings afores'd. & to 
the said several pews belonging to him & his heirs for- 
ever. 

And also that the said John Chandler since the said 
nineteenth day of April, viz. on the said first day of Sep- 
tember & on the said first day of March, was seized & 
possessed & was entitled to be seized & possessed, & to 
have, hold & demand to his own use, each & every of the 
above-described tracts of land, each & every of the build- 
ings af ore'sd. and the aforesaid several pews — with all 
the privileges, appurtenances & easements to the said 
tracts of land, buildings & pews belonging to him & his 
heirs forever — And the said Levi Lincoln further al- 
ledges that by force of the premises & of the law of this 
State entitled " An Act for confiscating the Estate of cer- 
tain persons commonly called Absentees " — the said 
several tracts of land, the said buildings & the said pews, 
with all the appurtenances, to the said tracts of land, 
buildings & pews belonging, ought to escheat, enure & 



APPENDIX 201 

accrue to the sole use, benefit & behoof of the Govern- 
ment & People aforesaid afores'd. & that they accordingly 
ought to be in possession thereof : Therefore praying the 
advice of the Court here in the premises, & that due 
process of Law in this behalf may be made — as by 
the Complaint on file appears. — Which Complaint was 
exhibited to the Justices of the Inferiour Court of Com- 
mon Pleas, begun & held at Worcester, within & for the 
County of Worcester, on the first Tuesday of September 
Anno Domini One thousand seven hundred & seventy 
nine ; — Thereupon it was Considered & ordered by the 
Court that the said Complaint be continued to the next 
Inferiour Court of Common Pleas to have been holden at 
Worcester, within & for the County of Worcester, on 
the first Tuesday of December then next following, & 
which by adjournment of the Great & General Court 
was held on the second Tuesday of the same December, 
& that the Clerk of this Court make out a Notification 
thereof agreeable to Law, containing a Description of the 
Lands tenements & hereditaments set forth in said Com- 
plaint, that all persons claiming said Estate, or any part 
thereof, may then & there enter their said Claims. At 
which last mentioned term Jonathan Rice, one of the 
Deputy Sheriffs within & for said County made return of 
the Notification issued agreeably to the said order, in the 
words following, viz. — " Worcester ss. November 3d, 
1779. In obedience to the above Warrant to me directed, 
I have left an attested Copy of the foregoing Notification 
at the Mansion house on the above described demanded 
premises, it being the last & usual place of abode of the 
within named John Chandler within this State, as the law 
directs. Jonathan Rice Depy. Sheriff." — And the said 
Levi Lincoln Esqr. appeared further to prosecute the 
said Complaint, & no person appearing to take upon him 
the Defence of this Suit, the same was further continued 



202 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

by order of Court to the Inferiour Court of Common 
Pleas, begun and held at Worcester, within & for the 
County of Worcester, on the last Tuesday of March last ; 
at which last mentioned term the said Levi Lincoln, Esqr. 
appeared further to prosecute the said Complaint, & John 
Sprague, Esqr. appeared to take upon him the Defence 
of this Suit, & thereupon the same was further Continued 
by order of Court to the next Inferiour Court of Com- 
mon Pleas, begun & held at Worcester, within & for 
said County, on the second Tuesday of June last, when 
& where the said Levi Lincoln, Esqr. appeared further to 
prosecute the said Complaint & the said John Sprague, 
Esqr. to take upon him the Defence of this Suit. There- 
upon the said Complaint was further continued by order 
of Court to the Inferiour Court of Common Pleas begun 
& held at Worcester, within & for the County of Worces- 
ter, on the first Tuesday of September last, when & 
where the said Levi Lincoln, Esqr. appeared further fur- 
ther to prosecute the said Complaint, & the said John 
Sprague, Esqr. to defend the same. — Thereupon the 
said Complaint was further continued by order of Court 
to the Inferiour Court of Common Pleas to have been held 
at Worcester, within & for the County of Worcester, on 
the first Tuesday of December Instant, & which by a re- 
solve of the Great & General Court was adjourned to the 
present time. — And now neither the said John Sprague, 
Esqr. nor any other person appearing to take upon him 
the Defence of this Suit, proclamation is made for any 
person or persons who have claim to the Estate in the 
said Complaint mentioned, described & demanded, either 
in their own right, or on the part & behalf of the said 
John Chandler, or of any person whomsoever, to come & 
defend this Suit, and no person appearing to take upon 
him the Defence of this Suit — It is by the Court there- 
fore Considered that the said John Chandler is guilty 



APPENDIX 203 

in manner & form as in the said Complaint is alledged 
against him, & that the lands, tenements & hereditaments 
described in the said Complaint are forfeited, & do es- 
cheat, enure & accrue to the sole use, benefit & behoof of 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and that a writ of 
Habere facias possessionem issue in behalf of the Com- 
monwealth aforesaid to cause them to be seized & pos- 
sessed of the same. 

Attest : Jos. Allen, Clerk. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Worcester, ss. 

I, William T. Harlow, Assistant Clerk of the Superior 
Court for said County of Worcester, hereby certify that 
the above and foregoing are true copies of the proceed- 
ings of the Inferiour Court of Common Pleas in two 
cases, each entitled State vs. Chandler, transferred to said 
Superior Court and now in the custody of its Clerk. 
In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand and 
aiSixed the seal of said Superior Court, this 
(seal) eleventh day of February, A. d. 1901. 

W^. T. Haklow, 

Ass't Clerk. 
P. S. Ch. 152, § 27. 



c. 

COPIES OF PAPERS IN THE MASSACHUSETTS AR- 
CHIVES RELATING TO THE CASE OF JOHN CHAN- 
DLER. 

LIST OF PAPERS IN THE MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES. 

No. 33. Certificate of the Committee of Correspondence, Safety 
and Inspection of Murrayfield as to real & personal 
estate of Chandler in that town. May 26. 1777 

No. 34. Certificate of Judge of Probate as to Report of Com- 
missioners to examine claims against the estate. May 
8, 1782. 

No. 35. Certificate of Judge of Probate to claim of George 
Bethone. May 20, 1782 

No. 36. Extract from Certificate of Register of Probate as to 
names of Agents. June, 8. 1782 

No. 37. Certificate of Judge of Probate as to report of Commis- 
sioners to examine claims against the estate. October 
7, 1783 

No. 38. Statement of Account of Committee for the sale of 
Absentees Estates in Worcester April 20, 1784 (?) 

No. 39. Receipt of Gad Peirce — no date 

No. 40. Memorandum of Expenses on real estate purchased by 
Levi Lincoln. No date 

No. 41. Bill of Probate Office. June 10. 1784. 

No. 42. Report of Secretary as to Warrants drawn on Chan- 
dler's Estate. 



APPENDIX 205 

[Number 33.] 
Massachusetts Archives, vol. 154 : 122. 

MuRRAYFiELD May 26 1777 
pursuant to an act of the Great and General Court of the 
State of Massachusets Bay April 19 1776 Direct- 
ing the Committee of Correspondence Safety and Inspect- 
tion to tack possession of all the Real and personal Estate 
of all such persons as have fled to our Enemys — The 
Committee of this Town have tackin of Real and personal 
Estate Left by the persons after mentioned, and Disposed 
of it according to our Best discretion and judgment fop 
the use of this State — 

21y Some personal Estate Left by Col John Chandler 
in this Town and Sold by the Committee for thirty five 
pounds Eight Shillings Eight pence to Mr. Theadeus New- 
ton, and Lint James Black his Surety Both of this Town 
Sly Real Estate in this town which Did Belong to Col 
John Chandler which the Committee have Least out to s^ 
thaddeus Newton for Eighteen pounds one year Capt 
Malchum Henry his Bondsman 
********** 

this Return made By order of the Committee. 

Samuel Matthews Chairman 



[Number 34.] 
Massachusetts Archives, vol. 155 : 280. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
Worcester ss. 

To his Excellency John Hancock EsqF Govenor of the 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts in council 

These are to certify — that in pursuance of the laws of 



206 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

this Commonwealth, commissioners have been Duly ap- 
pointed by the Judge of Probate &c. for said county o£ 
Worcester with full power to receive and examine the 
claims on the estate of John Chandler Esq^ late of Worces- 
ter in said county an absentee, — and to report thereon, 
and that said Commissioners have agreeable to Law made 
their report to the said Judge of Probate on oath, by 

which it appears that the sum of X1979-18-1-V2 

lawfuU money of this commonwealth, at the rate 



of silver @ six shillings and eight pence per ounce is the 
whole amount of all the claims exhibited against the estate 
of the said John Chandler, togeather with the sum of 
X5_l_0 due to the said Commissioners, and the sum of 
XO-10-0 due to the probate office for Receiving examin- 
ing allowing & recording the return of the said Commis- 
sioners — and making this certificate of Claims — And 
that there is due from said Estate to the persons hereafter 
mentioned, claiments on said Estate, the particular sums 
respectively sett against their Names, lawfull money in 
gold or silver, viz. 

To Jonathan Gates JunF Worcester on 

Ac*.- 
Nath^ Heywood of Srewrsbury on Ac' 
John Fisk Worcester on Note 
Phillip Donehue of Worcester on Ac* 
William Trowbridge Do — on Ac*- 
Edmond Heard of Lancaster on Ac*- 
James Loyd, Boston on Ac*. 
Benj'^ Green & Sons of Boston on Ac*- 

against John & Clark Chandler 

being one half of the Ac*. 
Ruffus Green Boston on Bonds being 

the one half of the Bonds Due from 

John & Clark Chandler 



5- 


-12- 





3- 


-11- 





14- 


- 3- 





0- 


-16- 


9 


1- 


-14- 


2 


1- 


- 5- 


8 


1- 


- 3- 





676- 


-19- 





392- 


- 6- 


■IO-V2 



APPENDIX 207 

To Thomas Fairweather EsqF of Cam- 
bridge Executor on the Estate of 
Mary Hubbord on Bond 135- 5- 

George Bethone of Little Cambridg on 

Bond 276- 0- 

Daniel Bancraft Salem on Ac*. 14-18-11 

Benj* Green & Sons Boston on Note & 

Ac*. 422-19- 2 

Robert Smith Murrysfield on Ac*. 30- 0- 

Mary Chandler of Worcester on Ac*. 103- 9- 4 

£1979-18- I-V2 

In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand 
and seal of Office this eighth day of May in the year of 
our Lord seventeen hundred and eighty two 

Levi Lincoln J. Prob- 



[Number 35.] 
Massachusetts Archives, vol. 155 : 226. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Worcester ss. 

May 20'.'; 1782. 

These are to Certify all whom it may concern, That 
in Pursuance of the Laws of this Commonwealth, Com- 
missioners have been duly appointed by the Judge of 
Probate, &c. for the said County of Worcester, with full 
Powers to receive and examine the Claims on the Estate 

of The Honi John Chandler Esq 

late of Worcester — in said County, an Absentee, and to 
report thereon, and that said Commissioners have agree- 
able to the Law made their Report to the said Judge 
of Probate, on Oath, by which it appears that the Sum 
of One Thousand nine hundred & seventy nine pounds 
18/ ldV4 Lawful Money of this Commonwealth, at the 



208 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Rate of Silver at Six Shillings and Eight Pence per 
Ounce, is the whole Amount of all the Claims exhibited 
against the Estate of the said Absentee — and that the 
Sum of Two hundred seventy Six pounds — Lawful 
Money, in Gold and Silver, is due from said Estate to 
George Bethone of Little Cambridge — one of the afore- 
said Claimants. 

Levi Lincoln Judge of Probate. 



[Number 36.] 
Massachusetts Archives, vol. 154 : 330. 

. . „ A I, i XT m Personal Rents of the 

Agents Names Absentees Names. Towns. Estates. Real Estate. 

r Settled for 
Not Settled for j wliat lies in 
the year 1780 1 the Coimty of 

( Worcester — 
Not Settled for 
1779 & 1780 



Joseph Allen Esq'. 



John Chandler Esq'. 

James Putnam Esq' 
Rufus Chandler Gent 



Worcester xilT&mO ^^^^^"^ 

Not Settled — No Real Estate 



********** 

Worcester ss. June 8th 1782 

To the Great and General Court of the Common- 
Wealth of Massachusetts In Obedience to an order of 
the late General Court, the above is presented by 

Joseph Wheeler 
Register of the Court of Probate for said County. 

[Number 37.] 
Massachusetts Archives, vol. 155 : 330. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Worcester ss. — 

To His Excellency John Hancock, Esquire, 

Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in 
Council. — 
These are to Certify, That agreable to a Resolve of the 



APPENDIX 209 

Great and General Court of this Commonwealth, bearing 
Date March 7*.^ a. d. 1782, the Commissioners heretofore 
appointed by the Judge of Probate for the County of 
Worcester, to receive & examine the Claims on the Es- 
tate of John Chandler EsqF late of Worcester in the said 
County, an Absentee ; have been duly re-appointed by 
the Judge of Probate of the said County (it appearing 
that the same would tend to the furtherance of Justice) 
— with full Powers to Receive & examine the Claims on 
said Estate, not heretofore received & duly examin'd, 
and to Report thereon : And that the said Commission- 
ers have agreable to Law, made their Report to the said 
Judge of Probate, on Oath ; by which it appears that the 
Sum of One Thousand, forty six Pounds, twelve Shillings 
& five Pence, lawful Money of this Commonwealth at 
the Rate of Silver @ six Shillings and eight Pence per 
Ounce, is (in addition to the Claims heretofore allow'd) 
the whole Ajnount of all the Claims exhibitted against 
the Estate of the said John Chandler, together with the 
Sum of X5-6 — due to the Commissioners for their Ser- 
vice & expences in the Execution of their last Commission, 
and <£0-12 due to the Probate Office for the Commission, 
examining, allowing & recording the Return of the said 
Commissioners, and this Certificate of Claims : And that 
there is due from the said Estate, to the Persons here- 
after mentioned. Claimants on said Estate, the particular 
Sums set against their Names respectively, lawful Money 
in Gold or Silver, viz. 

To Benjamin Greene X240-11- 9 

To Martha Green 591- 0- 

To Sarah Greene 42- 2- 6 

To Gardner Williams 47-15- 

To Charles Chandler & Samuel Chandler 125- 3- 2 
Worcester October 7'." 1783. 

Joseph Dow J. Prob. 



210 



THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 



o 



B 
o 

a 



>0 ri 



it 



S w 



r^ =+-1 

<j o 



s 


\^ 


0) 


►< 




,a 


« 


h 


-»a 


« 


03 




Oi 


1—1 





^ 


n3 

i 






u 




p 


W 




^ 


in 




o 


(D 




1-5 


-S 




O 





CO o 



o 


O 


00 


00 


Tt< 


6 


^ 




1 

CO 


ci 






§ 




00 



w 



a 



.a o g 

1% o o 

Sow 

^ o a 

9 S S 

«« o f? 

HH d -"^ 

W 02 OJ 



o2 


O 


O 


^ 


O 


Is 


t- 


o 


^ 


o 


T-l 


<M 


CN 


(N 


e3ni 


iM 


O 






-Pima JO OM 











<^ 



^ 









.a 



I I 

lO CO 

=4? '-I 



O O CO 


1 


rH 


CO 


1 1 1 1 

O OO CO 




rH 


1 


(N CO CO 53 

t-00 W 


CO 


00 

CO 
CO 






^ 



o a> C o 



« 



9 





o" 



APPENDIX 211 

[Number 39.] 
Massachusetts Archives, vol. 155 : 227 (2). 
Receiv^ of John Fessenden Esq^ The Committee for 
the Sale of Absentees Estates in the County of Worces- 
ter the Sum of Twenty Seven Shillings and five pence 
for the Expence at my House when Selling the land late 
the Property of John Chandler EsqT an Absentee. 

Gad Peirce 

[Number 40.] 
Massachusetts Archives, vol. 155 : 227 (3). 
To two Journeys to Worcester on Chandlers 
Estate Sold to Levi Lincoln Esq'^ from 
Rutland to Worcester 12 miles 
Each at 0/6 per mile ^ 0-12-0 

To Expences on the Road 4/ ^- 4-0 

John Fessendens Account <£ 0-16-0 

Caleb Ammidowns Account on Chandlers 
farm Sold to Levi Lincoln to two Jour- 
neys from Charlton to Worcester 

20 Miles Each at 0/6 per mile 

To Expences on the Road 6/ 



Amounting in the Whole to 

To one Journey to Worcester to advertise 

Royatson land 6/ 

Expences 4/ 

To one Journey from Rutland to Royatson 

To sell Chandlers Land 35 at /6 per mile 

Expences on the Road 8/ 



X 1- 


0-0 


0- 


6-0 


X 1- 


6-0 


0- 


16-0 


X2- 


2-0 


0- 


6-0 


0- 


. 4-0 


0-17-6 


0- 


- 8-0 



3-17-6 



£0-4-0 



212 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

[Number 41.] 
Massachusetts Archives, vol. 155 : 228. 
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the Probate 
Office for the County of "Worcester Dl 

For Sundry Servicies in settling the Estates of Absentees 
in said County, which have not been paid for by the 
Several Agents — (Viz) — 

Upon the Estate of John Chandler Esq' — 
For makeing two statements of said Estate 
& Certifying the same to the General Court 
agreeable to their Order 

********* 
June 10'? 1874 

Joseph Wheeler, Eeg"" 

[Number 42.] 
Massachusetts Archives, vol. 154 : 391-(4). 

Account of Warrants drawn by His Excellency the 
Governor on the Treasury in favor of Creditors to Ab- 
sentees Estates to be paid out of the proceed thereof. 

********* 

Estate of John Chandler 

John Cunningham 36- 7-10 

Daniel Bancroft 14-18-11 

Nath? Heywood 3-11 

54-17- 9 

********* 

John Avery, Sec^ 



D. 



JOHN CHANDLER, AMERICAN LOYALIST. HIS CLAIMS 
FOR "TEMPORARY SUPPORT" AND FOR "COM- 
PENSATION FOR LOSSES SUSTAINED," HIS MEMO- 
RIALS, SCHEDULES, EVIDENCES, AND PAPERS, 
COLLATED, EXTRACTED, AND TRANSCRIBED FROM 
OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS IN THE PUBLIC RECORD 
OFFICE OF ENGLAND BY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 
STEVENS, L. H. D., A. A. S., F. S. A., AND PRESENTED 
TO THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, 
APRIL, 1901. 



TRANSCRIBER S NOTE OF CONTENTS. 



from Audit 
Office Loyal- 
ist series 
Bundle 73 
Vol. 105 



Temporary Support 

Copy of memorial to Lord G. Germain 

2 Sept. 1776 7 

Copy of memorial to the Treasury 11 

Certificates 19-28 
Commissioners' Statement in Book of 

Old Claims Extract 30-31 



Compensation 

Bundle 73 Memorial 9 February 1784 

" Schedule with names of Referees 

" Supplement to Schedule 

" Depositions N°° 1 to 5 of the above 

Referees 

** Copy of Protest of the town of Worces- 

ter, mentioned in the Memorial 
above 

" Certified sealed copy of Writs, Judg- 



35 
41 
59 

65-116 



117 



214 



THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 





ments and Appraisements, fastened 






together with ribbon 


127-260 




Transcriber's note of duplicate of two 






writs and judgment 


261 


Bundle 73 


Certificate concerning lands in Murray- 






field 29 Oct. 1783 


263 


(( 


Certificate concerning lands in Murray- 






field 31 Oct. 1783 


269 


(( 


Certificate of sale of Worcester estate 






4 Nov. 1783 


271 


Bundle 73 


John Chandler to M'. Forster 11 Oct. 






1785 


273 


« 


Certificates enclosed 


275-294 


(( 


John Chandler to Mf Forster 10 Nov. 






1785 


295 


(( 


John Chandler to Mf Forster 28 Feb. 






1786 


299 


Bundle 73 


Three Certificates fastened together 
with ribbon, enclosed in the forego- 






ing letter 


303 




Transcriber's note of a duplicate Cer- 






tificate 


309 


Bundle 73 


Memorial 1 May 1787 


311 


<( 


John Chandler to Mf Munro 30 Aug. 






1788 


315 


« 


Affidavit and accounts enclosed 
Transcriber's note of duplicate of 


317 




above letter and enclosure 


337 


Vol. 81 


Extract containing reference to John 






Chandler 


339 


Vol. 82 


Extract from a list of persons sustain- 






ing loss by forfeiture or confiscation 


341 


Vol. " 


Extract from accounts current of absen- 






tees estates 


344-^ 


Vol. 83 


Notes and Extract referring to John 






Chandler 


347 


Vol. 109 


Item from the Commissioners' Liqui- 






dation Book 


352-3 



APPENDIX 215 

(Pages 7 to 32 [Numbers 43-50 inclusive] are from Audit 
Oflfice Loyalist series Bundle 73 and are in a wrapper marked : — 

Temporary Support 
C 
T. B. Chandler 

John 

Mas. 
R/ . 6 NovF 1782) 



[Number 43.] 

To the Right Honorable Lord George Germaine His 
Majestys Principal Secretary of State for the American 
Department 

The memorial of John Chandler Esquire late of 
"Worcester in the County of Worcester and Province 
of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, but now 
Resident in London — 
Humbly Sheweth 

That your Memorialist, in Consequence of his Loyalty 
to his King and Attachment to the British Government, 
after Suffering the gratest Indignities and Insults from 
the rebellious Americans, was Obliged to leave an ample 
Estate and a Numerous Family in the County of 
Worcester, and flee for Refuge to the Town of Boston ; 
where he resided, under the Protection of the Kings 
Troops, for more than Sixteen months, and when they 
evacuated the Town of Boston, he went with them to 
Hallif ax : 

That your Memorialist, haveing been for Several Years 
of his Majestys Council (from which he had been dropped 
from his Opposition to many popular Proceedings) and 
still Continuing to be at the Head of the Militia, a Judge 
of the Probate of Wills and in the Commission of the 
Peace for said County, considered himself as under 



216 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Stronger Obligations to use his Influence for quietting 
the minds of his Countrymen, and inducing them to pay 
a proper Submission to the Laws and Authority of Great 
Brittain, than if he had been in a private Station, and 
became proportionably more obnoxious to the People ; in 
Clonsequence of which he has not been able, Since Sep- 
tember 1774, to procure any Support from his Estate, 
which was and is in the Hands of the Rebells ; and that 
by means of this unnatural Rebellion, and on account of 
his Attachment to his Majesty's Government, he is now 
reduced to temporary Poverty. 

Your Memorialist therefore humbly prays your Lord- 
ship in whose Humanity he has the gratest Confidence, 
that Such present Support may be provided for him, as 
his Situation may be thought to require ; and Your memo- 
rialist, as in Duty bound, Shall ever pray. 

John Chandler. 

London September 2^ 1776 

(Endorsed) 

Copy of Petition 
to Lord Germaiue 



[Number 44.] 

The following is a Copy of a Petition To the Right 
Honorable the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury — 
Presented the Seventeenth day of February Anno 
Domi: 1779 viz* 

To the Right Honorable the Lords 

Commissioners of the Treasury 

The Petition of John Chandler Esqy most humbly 

Sheweth 

That your Petitioners present Unhappy Situation com- 
peUs him to trouble your Lordships a second time, with 



APPENDIX 217 

a more particular Representation of his case, and with a 
humble and dutiful request for farther releif, under his 
Uncommon and almost unexampled misfortunes. 

That for many years before the American Rebellion 
your Petitioner held Several important and respectable 
offices in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay ; and, 
with what fidelity to his King and Country he discharged 
the Duties of them the Certificates hereunto annexed will 
Sufficiently Shew : That Several of the Offices which he 
held being elective, and depending on the choice of the 
people, were considered by them as laying a peculiar 
Obligation upon him to Support their measures in oppo- 
sition to the British Government, and consequently his 
Refusal of that Support exposed him in a peculiar degree 
to the outrage and persecution of the disaffected and 
licentious : 

That, after Suffering the most cruel Insults, being de- 
prived of his Liberty and threatned in the most alarming 
manner, unless he would Sacrifice his Loyalty to the 
King, renounce the Worcester Protest which he had pro- 
moted and Signed, and adopt in its Stead a very trea- 
sonable League and Covenant which was offered to him, 
he was obliged, in order to Save himself from an igno- 
minious Death, to fly from his home in November 1774, 
and put himself under the Protection of the Kings Troops 
then in Boston : 

That he left a beloved wife and Sixteen Children to 
the mercy of the Rebells ; but that four of his sons soon 
afterwards at the Risque of their lives, also made their 
Escape to Boston (who are now at New York) while his 
eldest Son was confined to his House, and his Second im- 
prisoned in the common Goal of the County : 

That all the money your Petitioner could collect, under 
Such circumstances, for his own Support, was Eight 
Hundred thirty two pound; which sum, by Sickness 



218 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

brought upon him by his Fatigues, by a voige which he 
was obliged to undertake for the Recovery of his health 
(in which voige he was Shipwrecked, and nearly Lost his 
life) and by other unavoidable Accidents, he had ex- 
pended before his arrival in England : 

That, in order to give your Lordships a more perfect 
Idea of your Petitioners Sufferings, he thinks himself 
bound in duty and Justice to disclose what he did not 
originally intend to avail himself of or discover, namely, 
that the Income of his real and personal Estate, Acquired 
by his own honest and honorable Industry, was upwards 
of thirteen Hundred "^ Annum 

That your Petitioner very gratefully acknowledges your 
Lordships former Goodness to him ; but yet he humbly 
implores your farther Consideration of the very peculiar 
Hardships of his case, especially as his present Allowance 
with the Strictest occonomy, is not Adequate to his 
necessary expences, and as he has already been obliged to 
contract Debts which he is unable to discharge : and That 
this Petition is most dutifully presented, in full confidence 
of your Lordships Goodness and Candour, and with an 
humble hope that your Petitioners former Circumstances 
and Stile of life, together with his Rank in the Province 
where he resided, in which he had the Honour to serve 
for many Years as one of his Majesty's Councillors, till 
he was left out merely for his Opposition to the Seditious 
Proceedings of the Inhabitants will have their due weight 
with Your Lordships. 

And as in duty bound shaU ever pray 

John Chandler 

(Endorsed) 

Certificates & 

Memorial of M! Chandler 

R. 6? Nov 1782. 



APPENDIX 219 

[Number 45.] 

I certify that I long knew John Chandler EsqF late of 
Worcester in the province of the Massachusetts Bay, but 
now of London, in which time, he was several years Sheriff 
of said County, Member for said town of Worcester, 
Judge of Probates for the county of Worcester, Colonel 
of the Militia and one of his Majesty's Council in the 
Province aforesaid ; in most of which offices he succeeded 
his father. And in all which departments, I always un- 
derstood he discharged his duty with great honor and 
integrity. That he always was an active and fast friend 
to Government ; and in consequence thereof, was obliged 
to quit his home and family, which was very numerous, 
and fly to Boston for protection. That for many years 
before that unhappy event, he was universally esteemed a 
Gentleman of a very affluent fortune for America, and 
lived in that stile. And though it is impossible for me 
to certify precisely to all the facts, by him alledged in his 
petition, touching his estate, yet from his known honour 
and veracity, as well as from general report, I declare, 
that I have no doubt of the same. 

Egbert Auchmuty 

October 29'" 1782. 



[Number 46.] 

At the Kequest of John Chandler EsqF I do hereby 
certify, that he was one of the principal inhabitants of the 
County of Worcester in the province Massachusetts, many 
years Sherrif of that County, & upon his Resignation 
was appointed Judge of Probate, Colonel of a Regiment, 
one of His Majesties Justices of the peace throughout 
the province, & a member of the provincial Council — he 
Possesed great property, had a numerous family and Very 



220 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Early distinguislied himself in Support of the constitution 
for which he suffered great persecution 

Tho? Fluckee 

Secretary of 
the Province 
November I'i 1782 



[Number 47.] 

I Certify that the Petitioner bore the Character of a 
firm and steady friend to Government, that he Suffered 
Persecution for his attachment to it, and was driven from 
his Estate, which by report, was considerable in the Massa- 
chusetts Bay and obliged to seek Protection in Boston, 
that he associated with others in the defence of that place, 
till attacked by a severe sickness he obtained my permis- 
sion to go to Nova Scotia. 

Tho? Gage 

Portland Place 
Janu' 28'^ 1779 

[Number 48.] 

At the Request of the Petitioner I Certifye, that he 
sustained Several Principal civil and military offices in 
the County of Worcester while I was Governour of the 
Massachusetts Bay, as he had done for several years 
before — that he was by Eepute possessed of as large 
property as any person in the County — that I always 
looked upon him as a person firmly attached to Govern- 
ment, and have reason to believe that for such attachment 
he was left out of the Council of which he had been divers 
years a member 

Sackille Street ThO : HUTCHINSON 

Janu» 28: 1779 



APPENDIX 221 

[Number 49.] 

At the Particular request of the Petitioner to Certify 
his memorial I can only confirm the several Circumstances 
as set forth in the foregoing Certificates Signed by Lieut 
Gen^ Gage and Governour Hutchinson - 

Tho^ Oliver 

Bentinck Street 
Jan" 30 : 1779 

[Number 50.] 

I Certifye that I Long knew the within named peti- 
tioner in America during which time, he was Several 
years Sheriff of the County of Worcester, member for the 
Town of Worcester, Judge of Probate for said County, 
CoP. of the militia, and one of his Majestys Council in 
the province of the Massachusetts Bay ; in most of which 
offices he succeeded his father, and in all which depart- 
ments, I always understood he discharged his duty with 
great Honor and Integrity, That he always was an active 
and fast friend to Government, and in consequence thereof 
was obliged to quit his home and family, which was very 
numerous, and fly to Boston for Protection. That for 
many years before that unhappy event, he was universally 
Esteamed a Gentleman of a very affluent fortune for 
America, and lived in that Stile, and though it is impos- 
sible for any one to certifye precisely to all the facts, by 
him alledged, in his petition, yet, from his known honor 
and veracity, I declare, that I have no doubt of the Same 

RobT Auchmuty - 
Brompton Row N° 4 

FeV 17 : 1779 - 



Copy 



(Endorsed) 

Memorial and 
Mas 



222 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Papers relating 

to M' John Chandler 



He attended 26'" Oct' 
was heard & examin'd 



[Number 51.] 
(From Audit Office, Loyalist Series, volume 105, folio 122.) 

Persons receiving Allowances under a General Minute of 
the Board dated the [ ] day of [ J but whose Claims are 

not set forth by Memorial or supported by Voucher 



Names 


Present 
Allowance 


Professions. 


Chandler John 


£100 


Judge of Probat of Wills & Coll of 
Militia 



Produces Copies of Certificates of Genl Gage, Thomas 
Hutchinson, Tho! Oliver, & R. Achmuty, the Originals 
of w'^^ he delivered to J/r Rowe. Bore every Office at 
Worcester as the Council of the Province of Massachu- 
setts Bay, Judge Protest of Wills — Sheriff of the 
County, — Lost real & Personal property to the Value of 
25000X was very ill used in Septem'" 1774 by the Rebels, 
when he got away to Boston, & associated for the Defence 
of y^ Town. Came away with the Troops has been in a 
very bad state of health ever since he came to Town, is 
62 Years of Age, has 16 Children, 11 Sons, & 5 Daugh- 
ters, himself & Family all ruined — has no Children here 
to provide for, has nothing to depend upon but this pro- 
vision, except about 21X is known to M*" Flucker, & every 
Gentleman in the Country. — 

N B. tho' We are perfectly satisfied with the truths of 
the above particulars, wish in point of Form, to have the 



APPENDIX 223 

Originals of the above Certificates, or to have the Copies 
attested. — M^ Flucker Speaks of his being one of the 
first Men in the County, that he lived, & having met with 
very hard measure, M"^ Harrison Gray, Confirms the above. 

DECISION. 

This Gentleman was in a most respectable situation in 
Life, & has been spoken well of, by every one who has 
spoken of him at all. — his property was very great being 
Estimated at X25,000 Sterl? besides this he has 16 Chil- 
dren tho' none of them are in this Country, Is 62 Years 
of Age, & We think his Case calls for an Augmentation 
of 50<£ a year in future. — 
Ex? 

(Pages 35 to 337 [Numbers 52 to 96 inclusive] are from Audit 
Office, Loyalist series, Bundle 73. These papers are docketed : — ) 

N? 443 

[Compensation] 

John Chandler N? 2 
Little Titchfield Street 
Memorial and Schedule 

N? 10. North Street 
Tottenham Court Road 

received ll"" Feb=: 1784 



[Number 52.] 
TO THE COMMISSIONERS 
appointed by act of Parliamant for enquiring into the 
Losses and Services of the American Loyalist 

The memorial of John Chandler late of Worcester in 
the Province of the Massachusetts Bay Esq"; 
Humbly Sheweth 

That your memorialist who is a native of New England 



224 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

has been always Loyal upon principle and firmly attached 
to the British Government which he endeavoured to Sup- 
port to the utmost of his power by openly opposing from 
the beginning the seditions and unlawful practices which 
Brought on the late unhappy Dessensions in America 

That with this view at an early period he was Instru- 
mental in bringing forward an open Protest against the 
popular proceedings in which he was Supported by the 
principal People of the Town of Worcester and to render 
it the more effectual he and his Loyal associates caused it 
to be entered on the Town Records and Copies of it to be 
circulated thro the Country in the publick News Papers, 
see the Protest marked A 

That in September ad 1774 a mob of several Thou- 
sands of Armed People drawn from the neighbouring 
Towns assembled at Worcester for the purpose of Stop- 
ping the Courts of Justice then to be held there which 
haveing accomplished they seized your memorialist who 
in order to save himself from Immediate death was obliged 
to renounce the afore said Protest and Subscribe to a 
very Treasonable League and Covenant. 

That he soon after found it necessary for his Personal 
Safety to leave his numerous Family and fly for protection 
to Boston where, upon the commencement of the Block- 
ade, he did the common duty of a Patrole till prevented 
for want of Health. 

That when the Evacuation of Boston took place in 
March A D 1776 he went with the Kings Troops to Halli- 
fax taking three of his sons with him and that he came 
from Hallifax to England the July following while his 
three Sons attended the army to New York where they 
remained during the war often doing military duty and 
always giving the army all the assistance in their Power. 

That in consequence of his Loyalty to his Majesty and 
Attachment to the British Government your memorialist 



APPENDIX 225 

besides many other Hardships and Sufferings has been 
compelled to quit a profitable mercantile business to give 
up the respectable office he held and to leave his whole 
Estate in the hands of the Americans who have actually 
Confiscated his real Property and have his personal Estate 
Still in their Power. 

All which particulars are fairly Stated in the annexed 
schedule by which you will be able to Judge what Losses 
he has Suffered in his Rights Property and Profession 
during the late unhappy dissensions in America in conse- 
quence of his Loyalty and attachment to the British 
Government. 

Your Memorialist therefore prays that his 
case may be taken into your consideration in 
order that your Memorialist may be enabled 
under your report to receive such aid or releif 
as his Losses and Services may be found to 
deserve 

John Chandler 

N^ 2 Little Titchfield Street 
Cavindish Square 
February 9 : 1784 - 

[Number 53.] 

A Schedule of the Estate of John Chandler Esqf Con- 
fiscated by the Massachusetts State refered to in the an- 
nexed Memorial viz* (valued in Sterling) 
N°l. One Acre two Eood and twenty nine 
perch of land in Worcester on which 
Stands his Mansion House two large 
Barns a Stable for thirteen Horses a 
large Granery a Chaise House one 
half of a large Store House and Sun- 
dry other Buildings held by deeds 
from Daniel Willard, and the Town 
of Worcester and the Proprietors of Sterling 
Worcester, see N°l valued at . . . afiiSO. 0. 



226 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

A Farm Containing one Hundred and 
Eighty eight acres and three Quar- 
ters of land well watered fenced with 
Stone wall and under the best Im- 
provement Situated in Worcester on 
the Road leading to Sutton known by 
the name of the mill Farm with a 
good dwelling House a large Barn 
and orchards two valuable Corn mills 
and a Bolting mill Standing on Black- 
stone River with a dam and the privi- 
ledge of raising a Pond of water held 
by Deeds from Zechariah Heard, 
Richard Heard, Elisha Rice, Francis 
Cutting, Joseph Hastings and Gardi- 
ner Chandler See N° 2 valued at . . ^1500. 0. 

Seventeen acres and one Rood of valuable 
wood land in Worcester held by 
Deeds from Daniel Heywood and 
Barzaleel Gleeson see N° 3 valued at 
£3 p acre £ 51.15. 

A Cedar Swamp in Worcester Containing 
Sixteen acres and a half held by 
Deeds from John Chandler and 
Gardiner Chandler 
see N° 4 valued at £10 p acre £ 165. 0. 

A Pasture in Worcester Containing Seventy 
acres three Quarters and Eleven perch 
well watered and fenced held by 
Deeds from Gardiner Chandler, John 
Frith and Lydia Chaddick see N° 5 
valued at £3.10/ p acre £ 247.12. 6 

A Pasture Containing twenty six acres 
and a half in Worcester watered and 
well fenced held by Deeds from Henry 



APPENDIX 227 

Baldwin and Samuel Mower — See 

N° 6 valued @ £5 p acre £ 132.10. 

A Farm in Worcester near the Meeting 
House Containing two Hundred and 
fifty Six Acres Acres & a Quarter 
with a good dwelling House two large 
Barns an artificial Front Pond twenty 
three perch Long and Seven perch 
wide the whole well watered and 
fenced with Stone wall and under 
the best Improvement held by deeds 
from Jacob Hemingway & wife and 
Anna Rice, Joseph Blair, Daniel 
Heywood, Thomas Stearns, Propri- 
etors of Worcester two deeds Robert 
Blair, and Joshua Childs see N° 7 
valued at X5 p acre £1280. 0. 

Forty acres of Land divided from the last 
Farm by a Town Road on which 
stands a large young orchard the 
remainder wood land held by deeds 
from the Town of Worcester and 
James Putnam Esq^ See N° 8 valued 
aX4. 0/ — pacre X160. 0. 

A Farm in Worcester near the Court House 
Containing two Hundred and three 
acres well watered and fenced with 
Stone wall on which Stands a large 
well Built Dwelling House two Barns 
with a Granery and Sundry other 
valuable buildings held in part by 
the last will and Testament of my 
late father also by deeds from my 
father and Gardiner Chandler see 
N"^ 9 valued at £1800. 0. 



228 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

A Farm situated partly in Worcester and 
partly in Leicester Containing three 
Hundred and twenty two acres & one 
Hundred and forty four perch well 
fenced and watered with a large 
dwelling House and Barn a large 
orchard and Cyder mill about fifty 
acres of it Covered with wood and 
timber the remainder under the best 
Improvement held by Deeds from 
Abisha Rice, John Gates, Samuel 
Waldo & others & Elisabeth and 
John Southgate see N*? 10 valued at 
£3.10/ p acre £1130.10 

Two thirds of a Farm Situated partly in 
Oxford and partly in Charlton in 
said County Containing in the whole 
two Hundred acres well watered and 
fenced with wall held in Common 
and undivided with Benjamin Rich 
with an old House and Barn Stand- 
ing thereon and a large orchard held 
by Deeds from John Chandler and 
Gardiner Chandler See N° 11 valued 
at 31 p acre £ 400. 0. 

Two Pews and three fifths of a Pew in 
Worcester meeting House held by 
Grant from the Town of Worcester 
valued @ £25 £ 65. 0. 

five Lotts of Land in Royalston in the Same 
County Containing two Hundred 
acres each and are lotts N° 26, 52, 91, 
95 & 103 in the whole 1000 acres 

Also a ninth part of the follow- 
ing Lotts in the Same 



APPENDIX 229 

Town viz* N° 22, N° 50 & 
N° 70 Containing in the 
whole, 490 acres a ninth 
part is 54 

So that the whole of his Land Confiscated 
in that Town amounts to 1054 acres 
@ 9/ .£474. 6. 

Held by deed from the Province see 
N°12 

A Farm in Murraysfield in the County of 
Hampshire Containing four Hundred 
acres viz* Lotts N° 9, 13, 14 & 15 on 
which Stands a good dwelling House 
large Barn and Sawmill & an orchard 
and Improved by mowing Ploughing 
and Pasturing valued at ^600. 0. 

Also the following Lotts in said Murrays- 
field and Norwich in the County of 
Hampshire viz* Lott N° 56, 59, 85, 
86, 97, & 111 Containing one Hun- 
dred acres each and are in the first 
division 600 acres 

Also Lotts N° 23, 24, 26, 
30, 31, 33 & 46 each 
200 acres is 1400 

Lott N° 27 153 

Also Lott N° 6 . . . .105 

Also Lott N° 7.95 acres 
and Lott N° 20 100 
acres is 195 

Also three Intervale Lotts 
marked O. P. & Q. 
60 acres each 150 

Also Lott N° 1 in y« Sec- 



230 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

ond Division Con- 
taining 247 

Also Lott N° 64 Containing 200 

Also one fifth part of 
1200 acres Called 
the additional Grant 
a fifth being 240 



3290 acres @ 10/ .£1645. 0. 

Also about four Hundred acres of Land 
in Murraysfield as it lyes in Comon 
and undivided with the Proprietors 
@ 3/ £ 60. 0. 

Total of Real Estate £10461.13. 6 

Held by Grant from the Province 

Personal Estate Confiscated 

119 Head of Horned Cattle whereof 70 
were full grown the remainder young 
Cattle @£3 357. 0. 

60 Sheep 6/18 

13 Horses young and old . . 7^ 91 

A Negro man Servant .... 50 

Husbandry Tools of all Sorts . 50 

three Carriages 40 606. 0. 



{^Supposed Sterling'] .£11067.13. 6 

His annual Income as Judge of the Pro- 
bate of Wills &c for the County of 
Worcester £25 nine Year is . . . 225. 0. 
His annual Income from his Store of Mer- 
chandise carryed on with his Stock 
in Partnership with his son Clark 
Chandler at Least £350 p Annum 
nine year is 3150. 0. 

£3375. 0. 



APPENDIX 231 

The Debts due to him in America he Supposes are 
Secured by the Treaty of peace between Great Brittain 
and that Country. Therefore does not mention them — 

Memorandum the following tracts of Land part of his 

Estate he has as yet no evidence of being Confiscated, 

viz* 

In Murraysfield In the County of Hampshire 
Lotts N« 17, 28, 32, 39 each one Hundred 
acres — also fifty acres of the west end of 
Lott N° 10 in the Same Town in the whole 450 acres 

In Athol in the County of Worcester a tract 

Containing 100 

In Royalstone in the same County Lott N° 8 
Containing 200 

One half of the Lott N° 54 in the Same Town 
one half is 100 

One Quarter of a tract of Land Containing 
928 acres as it Lyes in Common and undi- 
vided with Isaac Royal James Otis and 
Caleb Dana Situated between Leominster 
and Westminster in the same County a 
Quarter is 232 

Witnesses to his Loyalty 

Harrison Gray Esqf late Treasurer of the Province of 
the Massachusetts Bay N" 27 Rathbone place 

James Putnam EsqT late Attorney General for said Pro- 
vince N° 2 Little Titchfield Street Cavindish Square 

John Murray EsqF Cowbridge Glamorganshire and Abi- 
jah Willard EsqF N° 81 Charlotte Street Portland 
Chappie both members of his majestys late Council 
for the Same Province and Joshua Upham EsqF late 
aid de Camp to General SF Guy Carlton N° 7 Titch- 
field Street Oxford Market — 

Witnesses to his Losses 



232 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

the aforenamed James Putnam, Jolm Murray, Abijah 
Willard and Joshua Upham Esq" 

Also John Walker EsqF late a Cap* in his Majestys Ser- 
vice Lewisham Kent 

(Endorsed) 

N»443 

[Compensation] 
John Chandler N° 2 
Little Titchfield Street 
Memorial and Schedule 

N" 10 North Street 
Tottenham Court Road 

received 11'" Feb^ 1784 



[Number 54.] 

To the Honorable the Commissioners 
appointed by act of Parliament for inquiring into the 
Losses and Services of the American Loyalists. 

John Chandler late of Worcester in the 
Province of the Massachusetts Bay EsqF 
Prays to be allowed to Correct the following errors 
in his Schedule annexed to his memorial of the ninth of 
February Last viz* 

Lott N" 15 Containing one Hundred acres part of the 
farm in Murraysfield Containing four Hundred acres 
he held by Deed from John Hannum — see the deed 
Lot N" 56 in said Murraysfield in the first division he 

held by Deed from the Proprietors, see the deed 
In the memorandum of said Schedule N" 17 Should have 
been N° 95 said Lott N° 17 having been formerly 
Sold. 

he also Prays for Leave to add to his said Schedule 
the annual value of his Real Estate viz!^ 



APPENDIX 



233 



N° 1 ^50. 0. 

2 105. - - 

5 10. - - 

6 7. -. -. 



52. -. -. 



75 -. -. 

45 - -. 

12 -. - 

3. - - 

20 -. - 



£379 0. 
out of the above Sums was allowed to his late wife Mary- 
Chandler the Income of the Estates 

N«l . . . . £50 

5 . . . . 10 

6 . . . . 7 
9 . . . . 75 

a Pew in the meeting House 1 

£U2 
deduct the allowance made his said late wife 
for her Support during her natural life 
there remains .£236 p annum for nine 

Year is X2124. 0. 

Real & Personal Estate Confiscated . . 11067.13. 6 

his Income of office 225. -. - 

his Loss in Trade 3150 - - 

Total 16566.13. 6 

his wife dyed the 10*^ of Sep* Last. 

All which is Humbly Submitted 



John Chandler 



N? 2 Little Titchfield Street 
Cavandish Square 
March 15 : 1784 



234 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

He prays leave to add as a Witness to his Losses M' 
Ebenezer Cutler Merchant N« 393 Oxford Street 

(Endorsed) 

N° 443 
John Chandler 
Supplement to his 
Schedule 
Copies 

[Number 55.] 



[Three VI pence Government Stamps.] 




I James Putnam late of Worcester in the Massachusetts 
Bay designing quickly to embark for Nova Scotia and 
New Brunswick and being requested by John Chandler 
Esquire late of said Worcester to testify and say what I 
know of his Loyalty, services and losses by means of the 
late Rebellion in America ; to be used on his Examination 
before the Commissioners appointed by Act of Parliament 
for inquiring into the losses and services of the American 
Loyalists on his Memorial &": for compensation. 

Do testify and declare I have known the said Chandler 
for more than Thirty Years last past and that he sus- 
tained various offices of profit and trust under government 
in that province where he lived, at different times was a 
Justice of the Peace, Sheriff of the County of Worcester, 
Judge of the Probate of Wills &% Colonel of a Regiment 
of Militia frequently Representative of the Town in the 
general Assembly and some Years a Member of the Coun- 
cil for the Province, in all which offices he conducted with 



APPENDIX 235 

propriety and approbation and his Loyalty I never heard 
questioned, and I know from the commencement of the 
troubles between Great Britain and America he was 
always firm for the support and establishment of the 
British Government That he opposed their illegal resolves 
&? in the Town Meetings and resisted as much as he 
could all the combinations and Violences among the Peo- 
ple and finally to manifest to every Body his total dis- 
approbation of the conspiracies &° forming against the 
British constitution there, Some time in June One thou- 
sand seven hundred and seventy four he signed a Protest 
with above fifty other of the most respectable Inhabitants 
of Worcester which was published in the News papers 
and recorded in the Records of the Town, and that soon 
after the rage of the people encreased so fast that it was 
unsafe for any person of any Consequence who had op- 
posed their Violent measures to live among them and on 
that account it was, as he always sayed, and which I fully 
believe to be true, that Colonel Chandler left most of his 
Family and Estate at Worcester, came into Boston was 
there during the blockade, and at the evacuation went 
with the Troops to Halifax. 

He was possessed of a very good Estate real and per- 
sonal sayed to be and I believe from what I know of it 
was one of the best in the County I know he had a large 
and valuable Stock of Cattle and all Implements of Hus- 
bandry &*! in abundance, and during the greatest part of 
the time I knew him he was carrying on a considerable 
Trade in English Goods &^. apparently to great profit. 

I knew his Dwellinghouse Outhouses &*'. belonging to 
it. It was a large good House, well finished and in my 
opinion including all the Buildings which were many and 
valuable was worth Eight hundred pounds. 

His Farm down in Town near the Court house sayed to 
contain about two hundred acres I know very well and 



236 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

considering its situation &". being near the middle of the 
Town well fenced and a great proportion of it under good 
improvement I think was worth Six pounds per Acre 
exclusive of the Buildings which were good and particu- 
larly a very good new House then lately built and com- 
pleatly finished which with the other Buildings and 
Gardens I think were worth Eight hundred pounds. 

His Farm Uptown said to contain Two hundred and 
fifty acres with the Buildings &^. thereon I knew also very 
well a great proportion of it was very good Land all well 
fenced with Stone wall the greatest part under good Im- 
provement the Land was worth at least Five pounds per 
acre and the Building about Three hundred pounds. 

I know the Farm called the Mill Farm sayed to contain 
one hundred and eighty acres the House and Barn corn 
and Bolting Mills — the Lands I think were worth Four 
pounds per Acre the Mills standing on a good and con- 
stant stream and having a great supply of custom I think 
were very valuable, and in my opinion would clear One 
hundred and fifty pounds per Annum. 

The seventeen Acres of Woodland sayed to be by 
Charles Adam's I did not know particularly but was well 
acquainted with all the Lands near and about the place 
and such Lands I think worth Four pounds per Acre. 

I knew his Cedar Swamp and that it was as full of good 
cedar Timber as it could well grow and I know that Cedar 
was esteemed very valuable Timber and sold for a good 
price. 

I knew the Land sayed to contain Seventy acres at 
Tatnick in Worcester called Pasture Land and I think it 
was worth Five pounds per Acre. 

I knew the other pasture Land in the same part of the 
Town sayed to be Twenty six acres it was very good Land 
and worth Five pounds ten shillings per Acre at least. 

The Forty acres as it is called divided from the Up- 



APPENDIX 237 

town Farm by the Road I knew also and Value that at 
Five pounds per Acre. 

I knew well his Farm in Worcester and Leicester called 
the Chestnut hill Farm, sayed to contain about Three 
hundred acres and the dwellinghouse and Barn thereon 
which were good and almost new the Lands well fenced 
the greatest part under very good improvement was es- 
teemed to be very good Land and a Valuable Farm and 
including every thing I think was worth Fifteen hundred 
pounds. 

The Two thirds of a Farm that he owned in Charlton I 
did not know much about I have passed over it many 
years ago and remember the Land appeared to be very 
good, and I have often heard it say'd it was a very good 
Farm. 

I know he had several Pews in Worcester Meeting 
house in good situations and supposed to be worth as much 
as any in the House. 

As to his Lands in Murray Field I know nothing but 
by common report, neither do I know his Lands particu- 
larly in Royal Stone though I have been in the Town. 
But can say he was reputed to be a large Proprietor in 
each Town and the Lands in Murray Field were reputed 
to be very Valuable. 

I am of Opinion his real Estate in Worcester including 
the profits of his Mills &1 was worth at least Four hun- 
dred and fifty pounds per Annum and this as well as the 
value of every Article mentioned in the aforegoing Depo- 
sition is made and to be understood to be in Sterling 
Money. James Putnam 

Sworn before the Commissioners of ^ 
American Claims at their Office in V 
Lincolns Inn Fields Aug* 14*.^ 1784 J 
Charles Monro 

Ass*. Secretary 



238 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

(Endorsed) 

443 
James Putnam's 

AffidJ 
in Support of 
John C banders 
Claim 

[Number 56.] 



[Three VI pence Government Stamps.] 




I Joshua Upham late of Brookfield in the County of 
Worcester in the late Province of Massachusetts' Bay 
designing quickly to embark for Nova Scotia and New 
Brunswick being requested by John Chandler formerly 
of Worcester in the County of Worcester aforesaid Es- 
quire to testify what I know of his former situation in 
Life his Loyalty and Attachment to the British Gov- 
ernment and the Losses he has suffered in his Rights 
Property &c in Consequence thereof to be used on his 
Examination before the Commissioners appointed bu Act 
of Parliament for inquiring into the Losses and Services 
of the American Loyalists, on his Memorial for Compen- 
sation — being sworn on the Holy Evangelists of Al- 
mighty God do depose and say 

That I have for many Years been well acquainted with 
the said John Chandler that I resided during the whole 
of my Life before the American War in the same County 
with him and know that he for many Years represented 
the Town of Worcester in the General Court of the Pro- 



APPENDIX 239 

vince and was afterwards annually for several years 
elected a Member of his Majesty's Council and always 
approved by the Governor 

that he held and executed with Keputation the office of 
High Sheriff for that County by Appointment from the 
Governor — That he succeeded his Father in the office 
of Judge of Probate of Wills &c for the County which 
he continued to execute until the Commencement of the 
War — he had also for many years commanded by Com- 
mission from the Governor a Regiment of Militia, and 
was from the first of my Acquaintance with him a Justice 
of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace for the 
same County, he has been uniform in his Attachment to 
his Majesty's Government and openly on all Occasions 
opposed the Kings Enemies in the first Stages of the 
American Usurpation for which he was often insulted and 
particularly in the Year one thousand seven Hundred and 
seventy Four when about Five Thousand People assembled 
in Worcester to prevent the Sitting of the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas and to put a Stop to the Administration of 
his Majestys Government — ^ at that time I saw M^ Chan- 
dler with some few other Gentlemen of the same Town 
led in Triumph thro' the general Mob, and compell'd to 
submit to the Insolence and Humiliating Terms of vio- 
lent distracted men — soon after which It became neces- 
sary for him to quit his Estate and Family and put 
himself under the Protection of the Kings Troops then 
at Boston - — M^ Chandler was one of the first Families 
in that County — of fair Character and was possessed at 
the Commencement of Hostilities of a very large Landed 
Estate — some parts of which I have often seen and 
venture to estimate as follows viz* 

A small Tract of Land in the Center of the Town of 
Worcester with the Buildings including his Dwelling 
house Store Barns &c the Land used as a Garden and 



240 ~ THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Yard about the Buildings worth at least Eight Hundred 
Pounds — 

A Farm called Colonel Chandlers Uptown Farm In- 
cluding the Buildings cannot be worth less than Five 
Pounds an Acre — The tract of Land divided from the 
above Farm by a Town Road being a Wood Lot and hav- 
ing an Orchard on it, if taken with the Farm is worth 
the same Sum by the Acre 

A Farm called Colonel Chandler's Down Town Farm with 
a large Dwelling House compleatly finished and the other 
Buildings thereon worth at least Two Thousand Pounds — 

A Farm partly in Worcester and partly in Leicester 
called the Chestnut Hill Farm with the Buildings worth 
at least Four Pounds Ten Shillings an Acre 

The above Farms were when M"". Chandler left them 
in good repair well fenced chiefly with stone Wall — all 
Situated in and very near the Town of Worcester, the 
Principal Town in the County of Worcester — I know 
Mr Chandler owned part of the Town of Murrayfield, 
being a Proprietor of that Town with my Father in Law 
Colonel Murray — but as I never saw his Lands there 
I cannot testify to the value 

And I the Deponent do further depose and say that in 
the aforegoing Valuation and Appraisement I have been 
governed by the prises at which I think all the Estates 
aforesaid would have sold for in Gold or Silver Money in 
the Year one thousand seven Hundred and seventy Four 
and that the said Valuation and Appraisement is made in 
Sterling Money of Great Britain without favour or partial- 
ity and according to my best Knowledge and Ability — 

J. Upham 
Sworn before the Commissioners | 
of American Claims at their office V 
in Lincolns Fields, Aug* 17*? 1784 J 

Charles Monro 

Ass' Secretary — 



APPENDIX 241 

(Endorsed) 

443 
Joshua Uphams Affidavit 
on John Chandlers Claim 

[Number 57.] 



[Three VI pence Government Stamps.} 




I Abijah Willard formerly of Lancaster in the County of 
Worcester, in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in 
North America, Esquire, having determined to embark 
for the Province of Nova Scotia by the first opportunity, 
being requested by John Chandler formerly of Worcester, 
in the County of Worcester, aforesaid Esquire, to Testify 
to The Commissioners appointed by act of Parliament for 
inquiring into the losses and services of the American 
Loyalists, What I know of his former situation in life, 
his loyalty, and attachment to the British government, and 
the Losses he has suffered in his Rights Property &c. 
In Consequence thereof, being Sworn on the Holy Evan- 
gelists of Almighty God, do depose and say — 

— That I have been well acquainted with the said John 
Chandler for more than forty years, that during this 
period he was high Sheriff of said County of Worcester, 
Judge of the Probate of Wills &c. Colonel of the Militia, 
a Justice of the Peace througout the Province, a repre- 
sentative in the general assembly, and a member of His 
Majestys Council, He was allways esteemed a faithful 
Subject to his Majesty, and firmly attached to the British 



242 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

government, and on every occasion took an open, and 
active part, in opposing the Popular proceedings which 
brought on the late American War, and I know that by- 
such his general conduct, and perticalarly by Signing a 
Publick Protest against those proceedings, he rendered 
himself so obnoxious, as made it necessary for him some- 
time the latter end of the year 1774 to leave his family, 
and remove for safety to the Town of Boston, then in 
possesion of His Majestys Troops ; I remember that while 
in Boston the said John Chandler inrolled himself in a 
Company of associated Loyalists, and cheerfully did 
military duty for the defence of that Town. — I know the 
said John Chandlers Estate situated near the meeting 
house in said Worcester, supposed to contain about one 
Acre and three quarters of Land, there was a large well 
built dwelling House, two large Barns, a Stable, a Grain- 
ery, a Chaise house, one half of a large Store house, and 
sundry other buildings on the same, I believe it would 
have Eented for fifty pounds a year, and was well worth 
One Thousand Pounds. 

I have a general knowledge of the said John Chandlers 
Estate called the Mill farm, situated in said Worcester 
on the road leading to Sutton, said to contain about One 
Hundred, and eighty eight acres of good land, well fenced 
with stone wall, with a large dwelling house, a good Barn, 
two Corn Mills, and a Boulting Mill, standing on Black- 
stone River, which I have ever understood was the most 
valuable streem in that part of the country, there being a 
sufficiency of water for grinding at any time in the year. 
It is my opinion that this estate was very profitable, and 
would have rented for One Hundred pounds a year, and 
was worth Two Thousand pounds. 

I know the said John Chandlers estate in said Worces- 
ter called the Uptown farm, said to contain about Two 
hundred and fifty six acres, he had here a large farm 



APPENDIX 243 

House, two large Barns, and a pretty artificial fish pond, 
this estate is very pleasantly situated within a quarter of 
a mile of the meeting house, the land was very good, and 
fenced with stone wall, I think it would have rented for 
fifty pounds a year ; and was worth Fifteen Hundred, and 
thirty six pounds. 

I am acquainted with about forty acres of Land be- 
longing to the said John Chandler, devided from the last 
mentioned estate by a Town road, where he had a large 
young Orchard, well fenced with stone wall, the remainder 
valuable wood Land, I think this Tract of Land was worth 
One Hundred and sixty pounds. 

I am well acquainted with the said John Chandlers 
Estate in said Worcester, called the Down Town farm, I 
suppose it contained about Two hundred acres of very 
Valuable Land, under the best improvement, and fenced 
with stone wall, here was a large handsome new dwelling 
house, (I believe as well built as any in the County) two 
Barns, a Grainery, with sundry other valuable buildings, 
and two spacious Gardens, this estate was situated in the 
most desirable part of the Town, near the Court House, I 
believe it would have rented for Seventy five pounds a 
year, and was worth Two Thousand pounds. 

I also know the said John Chandlers Estate situated 
partly in Worcester, and partly in Leicester called Chesnut 
Hill-farm, said to contain about Three Hundred and twenty 
acres, there was a large farm House, a Barn, a Cyder 
mill house, and a very valuable Orchard on the same, the 
Land is very good, and was well improved, I suppose 
this Estate would have rented for Fifty pounds a year, 
and was worth Twelve Hundred, and ninety two pounds. 

I have frequently been in Worcester Meeting house, 
and think the said John Chandlers Pews there, would 
have sold for thirty pounds each. 

I have often been in the Town of Royalston in said 



244 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

County of Worcester, where I allways understood the 
said John Chandler owned Large Tracts of Land, but I 
have no perticalar knowledge of his Lands there, however 
from my general knowledge of Royalston, and the Country 
adjoining, I think that unimproved Lands there on an 
average are worth Ten shillings an Acre. 

I am well acquainted with said John Chandler's Farm 
in Murrayfield, in the County of Hampshire, in said 
Province of Massachusetts Bay, containing about Four 
Hundred acres of very good Land, I believe about One 
Hundred and fifty acres were under improvement, there 
was a good Farm house, a large Barn, a valuable Saw 
mill, and an Orchard on the same, I think it would have 
rented for Twenty five pounds a Year, and was worth 
Six Hundred pounds. 

I am also well acquainted with the said John Chandlers, 
other Lands in said Murrayfield, and also his Lands in 
Norwich in the same County, which together with his 
share of the additional grant to the Proprieters of said 
Murrayfield, I think on an average were worth Twelve 
shillings an acre, Except his share of the undevided lands 
in the two last mentioned Towns, which I think were 
worth only Three shillings an Acre. 

And the Deponent further says, That the said John 
Chandler was allways supposed to be, and he verily be- 
lieves was, possessed of a very ample Independant fortune, 
and that this Valuation and appraisement is made in Ster- 
ling money of Great Britain, without favor or partiality, 
and according to his best knowledge and ability. 

Abijah "Willard 

Sworn before the Commissioners ^ 

of American Claims at their Office / 
in Lincoln's Inn Fields July 19*.^ 1784 ) 
John Forster 
Secretary 



APPENDIX 245 

(Endorsed) 

443 

Abijah Willard's 

Aff^ 
in support of 
John Chandler's Claim 

[Number 58.] 



[Three VI pence Government Stamps.] 




I Ebenezer Cutler formerly of Groton in the County of 
Middesex in the Province of Massachusetts bay in North 
America having determined to embark for the Province 
of Nova Scotia by the first opportunity being requested 
by John Chandler formerly of Worcester in said Province 
of Massachusetts Bay — To testify to the Commissioners 
appointed by Act of Parliament for enquiring into the 
Losses & Services of the American Loyalists, all I know 
of his former situation in Life, his Loyalty and Attach- 
ment to the British Government and the Losses he has 
sustained in his Property in consequence thereof ; Being 
sworn on the holy Evangilists of Almighty God, Do 
depose & say — that I have known the said John Chan- 
dler more than twenty Years, during which Time he has 
held many respectable offices of Trust under his Majestys 
Government and was always esteemed a faithfuU Subject 
to his Majesty and uniformly attached to the British Gov- 
ernment and always opposed the measures that bro't on 
the late American War, I remember he signed a public 
Protest against those Measures, which was published in 



246 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

the News Papers that circulated through America & 
thereby rendered himself so obnoxious to the Kings Ene- 
mies, that before the nineteenth day of April 1775, he 
was compelled to leave his Family and remove for safety 
to the Town of Boston then in Possession of his Majestys 
Troops and I recollect that he remained within the British 
Lines during the Blockade of that Place & that he went 
from thence with the Army to Halifax — And I the 
said Ebenezer Cutler do further depose and say, that from 
some time in the Year 1763 until sometime in the Year 
1771, I lived in the Towns of Northborough & Oxford 
in the County of Worcester aforesaid about ten Miles 
distance from the said John Chandlers dwelling house 
in said Worcester and thereby became well acquainted 
with his real Estate, hereafter discribed, that is to say, — 
I know the said John Chandlers Homstead situated near 
the Meeting house in said Worcester supposed to contain 
about one Acre & three quarters of Land, there was a 
very large valuable dwelling house two Store Houses, a 
Stable, two large Barns, and sundry other buildings on 
the same, I think this Estate is as well situated for busi- 
ness as any in the County and was worth eight hundred 
pounds — I also know the said John Chandlers Estate 
called the Mill Farm situated in Worcester aforesaid on 
the Road leading to Sutton, said to contain about one 
hundred & eighty eight Acres of Land well improved, 
there was a good Dwelling house a large Barn, two very 
valuable Corn Mills and a Bolting Mill on the same, I 
believe this Estate was worth sixteen hundred pounds — 
I also know the said John Chandlers Estate situated in 
said Worcester about a Quarter of a Mile from the Meet- 
ing house called the uptown Farm supposed to contain 
about two hundred & fifty six Acres of Land under good 
Improvement, there was a large Farm house & two large 
Barns on the same — I think this Estate was worth 



APPENDIX 247 

fourteen hundred Pounds — I also know the said John 
Chandlers Estate in said Worcester called the down Town 
Farm supposed to contain about two hundred acres of 
very valuable Land, with a very hansome new Dwelling 
house, two Barns and sundry other Buildings on the 
same — This Estate was very advantageously situated 
near the Court house and I think was worth two thousand 
Pounds — I also know the said John Chandlers Estate 
situated partly in Worcester aforesaid & partly in Leices- 
ter called the Chest nut hill farm ; said to contain about 
three hundred and twenty Acres of Land, there was a 
good dwelling house, a Barn a Cider mill house and a 
very large Orchard on the same, I think this Estate was 
worth twelve hundred and Eighty pounds — 

I am also well acquainted with an Estate situated partly 
in Charlton & partly in Oxford in the County of Worces- 
ter aforesaid supposed to contain about two hundred 
Acres of very valuable Land remarkably well watered ; 
there was an old Farm house a good Barn and an Orchard 
on the same, This Estate was rented to a Benjamin 
Rich, I also understood that, it belonged to the said 
John Chandler and Timothy Paine Esq", and think it 
was worth six hundred pounds 

And I the s4 Ebenezer Cutler do further depose and 
say that the said John Chandlers Estates before mentioned 
were all under good Improvement & remarkably well 
fenced with Stone Wall, and that the said John Chandler 
was always reputed to be, and I verily believe was pos- 
sessed of a very ample independant fortune and that in 
the aforegoing Valuation and Appraisement I have been 
governed by the prices at w*'.^ I think all the Estates afore- 
said would have sold for in Gold or Silver money on or 
about the Nineteenth day of April 1775, or shortly pre- 
vious thereto, and that the said Valuation and Appraise- 
ment is made in sterling money of Great Britain without 



248 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

favor or partiality and according to my best Knowledge 
and Ability. 



Eben? Cutler 



Sworn before the Commissioners of 
American Claims at their office Lin- 
colns Inn Fields Aug* 18*? 1784 
John Forster 

Secretary 

(Endorsed) 

443 
Ebenezer Cutlers Affidavit 
in John Chandlers 
Clame 

[Number 59.] 



[Three VI pence Govenunent Stamps.] 




I Daniel Murray formerly of Rutland in the County 
of Worcester in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay 
designing quickly to embark for Nova Scotia and New 
Brunswick being requested by John Chandler formerly of 
Worcester in the County of Worcester aforesaid Esquire 
To testify what I know of his former Situation in Life, 
his Loyalty and Attachment to the British Government 
and the Losses he has suffered in his Rights Property &c 
in Consequence thereof to be used on his Examination 
before the Commissioners appointed by Act of Parlia- 
ment for inquiring into the Losses and services of the 
American Loyalists on his Memorial &c for Compensa- 
tion — being sworn on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty 



APPENDIX 249 

God do depose and say that I have known the said John 
Chandler more than Twenty Years last past during which 
time he held various offices of Profit and Trust under his 
Majesty's Government and was always reputed to be a 
Loyal faithful Subject to his Majesty and firmly attached 
to the British Government I know he always opposed 
the Measures which brought on the American Kebellion 
and remember that by reason of his many Exertions for 
the support and Maintenance of his Majesty's Govern- 
ment in America he became very unpopular and sometime 
the latter End of the Year one thousand seven Hundred 
and Seventy Four was obliged to leave his Family and 
Estate and remove for safety to the Town of Boston then 
in Possession of his Majesty's Troops. 

And I the Deponent do further depose and say that for 
more than Two Years shortly previous to the Commence- 
ment of the American War I lived in the Town of 
Worcester aforesaid and thereby became well acquainted 
with the said John Chandler's Keal Estate hereafter de- 
scribed viz* 

About one Acre and three quarters of Land Situated 
near the Meeting House in said Worcester there was a 
very large well finished Dwelling-house Two Storehouses, 
Two large Barns, a stable and many other valuable 
Buildings on the same and in my Opinion was well worth 
Eight Hundred Pounds. 

I also know his Farm in Worcester aforesaid called the 
Mill Farm said to contain about One Hundred and 
Eighty Eight Acres there was a large Dwellinghouse and 
Barn and two very profitable Corn Mills on the same 
and in my Opinion was worth Two Thousand Pounds. 

I also know his Farm in said Worcester called the Up- 
town Farm Situated about a quarter of a Mile from the 
Meeting House said to contain about Two Hundred and 
Fifty Six Acres there was a large Farm House and Two 



250 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Barnes on the same and I think was well worth Twelve 
Hundred and Eighty Pounds. 

I also know his Farm situated near the Court House 
in said Worcester called the Down Town Farm said to 
contain about Two Hundred Acres there was a large new 
Dwellinghouse compleatly finished Two Barnes and many 
other valuable Buildings on the same and in my opinion 
was worth Two Thousand Pounds 

I also know his Farm Situated partly in Worcester 
aforesaid and partly in Leicester called the Chestnut Hill 
Farm said to contain about Three Hundred and Twenty 
Acres there was a good new Dwelling House a Barn a 
Cider Mill House and a large Orchard on the same and 
in my Opinion was worth Twelve Hundred and Eighty 
Pounds 

I also know about twenty six Acres of Land which the 
said John Chandler owned Situated in that part of said 
Worcester called Tatnick it was extraordinary Pasture 
Land and well worth Five pounds Ten Shillings an Acre 

And I the Deponent do further say that I have fre- 
quently been in Murray-Field in the County of Hamp- 
shire in the Massachusetts Bay aforesaid and am ac- 
quainted with the said John Chandler's Farm there said 
to contain about Four Hundred Acres there was a Farm- 
house a large Barn a Saw Mill and an Orchard on the same 
and in my Opinion was worth seven Hundred Pounds. 

I know the said John Chandler was a Proprietor in 
Murrayfield aforesaid and in Norwich in the County of 
Hampshire aforesaid and that he owned large Tracts of 
Land there and I think that unimproved Land in said 
Murray-field and Norwich was on an Average well worth 
Ten shillings an Acre 

And I the Deponent do also further depose and say 
that all the said John Chandlers Estates before mentioned 
Situated in Worcester and Leicester aforesaid were under 



APPENDIX 251 

good Improvement and well fenced chiefly with Stone 
Wall, and the said John Chandler was always reputed to 
be and I verily believe he was possessed of a very large 
independant Estate and that in the aforegoing Valuation 
and Appraisement I have been governed by the Prises at 
which I think all the Estates aforesaid would have sold 
for in Gold or silver Money in the Year one Thousand 
seven Hundred and seventy Four and that the said valu- 
ation and Appraisement is made in sterling Money of 
Great Britain without Favour or partiality and according 
to my best Knowledge and Ability. 

Dan? Mukray 
Sworn before the Commissioners of 
American Claims at their Office 
Lincoln's Inn Fields August 17*? 
1784 

Charles Monro 

Ass^ Secretary 

(Endorsed) 

Daniel Murray' 

affidavit on John Chandlers 

Claim 

[Number 60.] 
At a Meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town of Worces- 
ter held there on the 20*^ Day of June a d 1774 persuant 
to an application made to the Select-Men by forty three 
Voters and Freeholders of the same Town, dated the 20*^ 
Day of May last, therein among other things declaring 
their Just apprehensions of the fatal consequences that 
may follow the many riotous, & seditious actions that 
have of late times been done and perpetrated in divers 
places within the Province &c the Notes and proceedings 
of which Meeting we deem irregular and Arbitrary. — 



252 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Wherefore we, some of Us who were petitioners of the 
said Meeting and other Inhabitants of the Town here- 
unto subscribing : thinking it our indispensible Duty in 
these late days of licentiousness and distraction, in these 
times of disorder and confusion in too many of the Towns 
within this Province, to bear Testimony in the most open 
and unreserv'd manner, against all riotous, disorderly and 
Seditious practices ; must therefore now declare, that it is 
with the deepest concern for publick peace and order, that 
we behold so many who we used to Esteem sober peace- 
able Men ; so far deceiv'd deluded and led astray : by the 
artful crafty and insidious practices of some evil minded 
and ill dispos'd Persons who under the disguise of patri- 
otism, and falsely stiling themselves the Friends of Lib- 
erty some of them neglecting their own business an 
Occupations, in which they ought to be employ'd for the 
Support of their Families spending their time in dis- 
coursing of Matters they do not understand, raising and 
propogating falsehoods and callumnies of those Men they 
look upon with Envy, and on whose fall and ruin they 
wish to rise, intending to reduce all things to a state of 
tumult. Disorder, and confusion. And in persuance of 
the evil purposes, and practices, they have imposed on 
the understandings of some, corrupted the principles of 
Others, and distracted the minds of many, who under the 
influence of this delusion have been tempted to act a part, 
that may prove, and has already prov'd extremely preju- 
dicial to the Province : and as it may be fatal to them- 
selves, bringing into real danger, and in many instances, 
destroying that liberty and property we all hold so Sacred, 
and which they vainly and imperiously boast of defending 
at the Expence of their blood and treasure. — And it 
appears to Us that many in this Town seem to be led 
aside by strange Oppinions, and are prevented comeing 
to such prudent Votes and Resolutions, as might be for 



APPENDIX 253 

the general good, and the advantage of this Town in par- 
ticular, agreeable to the request of the petitioners of this 
Meetins: — And as the Town has ref us'd to dismiss the 
Persons stiling themselves the Committee of Correspond- 
ence for the Town and has also refus'd so much as to call 
on them, to Return an Account of their past dark and 
pernicious proceedings — 

We therefore whose Names are hereunto Subscrib'd do 
each of Us declare and protest that it is our firm opinion 
that the Commities of Correspondence in the several 
Towns of this Province, being Creatures of Modern 
invention, and constituded as they be, are a publick greiv- 
ance : having no legal foundation ; Contriv'd by a Junto 
to serve particular Designs and purposes of their own ; 
and that they, as they have been and are now, managed, 
in this Town are a Nuisance ; and we fear that it is 
in a great Measure owing to the banefull Influence of 
such Committies that the Teas of Immence Value lately 
belonging to the East Company, were not long since, 
scandalously destroy'd in Boston ; and that many other 
enormous acts of Violence and Oppression have been per- 
petrated, whereby the lives of many honest worthy Men 
have been endanger'd and their property destroy'd. — 
It is by these Committies also that papers have been 
lately Publish'd, and are now circulating through the 
Province inviting and Wickedly tempting all persons to 
sign them ; fully implying if not expresly Denouncing 
the destruction of all that refuse to subscribe their unlaw- 
f uU Combinations, tending directly to sedition civil War 
and Rebellion. 

These and all such enormities we detest and abhor, 
and the authors of them we esteem Enemies of our King 
and Country, Violators of all Law and Civil Liberty ; 
Malevolent Disturbers of the Peace of Society — Sub- 



254 



THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 



verters of the Establish'd Constitution an Enemies of 
Mandkind. — 
William Elder. 



Daniel Ward, 
John Walker, 
Nath Adams, 
Adam Walker, 
Jacob Stevens, 
Joshua Johnson 
Isriel Stevens , 
Joseph Clark 
Isaac Barnerd 
WUl? Paine 
Thaddeus Chamberlain 
John Chamberlain 
Will? Curtis 
Abel Stowel 
Daniel Goulding 
William Chandler 



William Campbell, 

Sam! Moore 
Jn? Mower 
Joseph Blair. 
Micah Johnson, 
Edmund Heard 
Tho' Beard Jun! 
Saml Mower 
Jacob Camberlain 
Sam| Bridge 
Andrew Duncan 
James Goodwin 
Clark Chandler 
Isriel Jennison 
Nanthan Patch 
Sam! Mower Jun! 
Isaac Moore 



John Chandler 

James Putnam, 
Gardiner Chandler 
Daniel Boyden 
Jn? Curtis. 
Thos! Baird. 
James Hart. 
Elisha Smith 
Tyrus Rice 
Nahum Willard 
Rufus Chandler 
Palmer Goulding 
David Moore 
James Heart Jun! 
Cornelius Stowell 
John Phillip 
Saml Brooks 
Isaac Willard 



Worcester June 24 : 1774 A True Copy — 

Exm"* P Clakk Chandler T Clerk 

{Endorsed) 

A 

Worcester Protest 

Copy 



[Number 61.] 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. — 

To all whom it may Concern. 

This may certify, That Joseph Wheeler Esq' 
is Register of Probate of Wills &c within & 
for the County of Worcester in this Com- 
monwealth Joseph Allen Esq' of Worcester 
is a Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in 
& for said County And Robert Breck EsqF is 




APPENDIX 255 

a Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in & 
for the County of Hampshire in said Com- 
monwealth — And that full Faith & Credit 
is & ought to be given to their several Acts 
& Attestations as on the annexed Papers, both 
in & out of Court. 
In Testimony whereof I have caused the Public Seal 
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to be hereto 
affixed this Twenty third day of October A? Dl 1783 
And in the Eighth Year of the Independence of the 
United States of America — 

John Hancock 
By His Excellency's Command — 
John Avery Sec^ 

[Number 62.] 

Worcester ss — The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

©To the Sheriff or Marshal of our said County 
of Worcester, his Under Sheriff or Deputy, 
Greeting. — 

Whereas We, before Our Justices of Our Inferiour 
Court of Common Pleas, holden for & within Our County 
of Worcester aforesaid, at Worcester, upon the second 
Tuesday of December last, by adjournment from the first 
Tuesday of the same Month, by a resolve of the Great & 
General Court, by the Consideration of Our said Inferiour 
Court recovered Judgment for Our Title & Possession of 
& in the several tracts or lots of land hereafter described ; 
late the Estate of John Chandler, late of Worcester afore- 
said, EsqT an Absentee, agreeable to the tenor & form, & 
by virtue of an Act of the Great & General Court intitled 
" An Act for confiscating the Estates of certain Persons 
commonly called Absentees." — 

Viz* — 



256 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

A tract of land lying about three miles Southwardly 
from the Meeting house in Koyalston, containing by esti- 
mation two hundred acres, being lot N? 26, & bounded 
Eastwardly on lot N9 31. Southwardly partly on lot 
N° 25, & partly on lot N^ 22 Westwardly on lot N? 
21. Northwardly partly on lot N° 20. & partly on lot N? 
27.— 

Also another tract of land situate about two miles & 
an half Southwardly from the Meeting house in Royalston 
aforesaid, containing by estimation two hundred acres, 
being lot N° 52. & bounded as follows ; beginning at the 
Northwest corner of the same by a stake & stones, & 
then running South on Thomas Fairweather's land to a 
stake & stones on Athol line ; then East by Athol line 
to a stake & stones on land of the heirs of Nahum 
Greene ; then North by said Greene's land to a stake & 
stones on Jonathan Sibley's land; then West by said 
Sibley's land to a stake of stones ; then North on said Sib- 
ley's land to a stake of stones on Ebenezer Elliot's land ; 
then West by said Elliot's land to the bounds first men- 
tioned. 

Also another tract of land lying in the Northeasterly 
part of said Royalston, about three miles & an half from 
the said Meeting house, containing by estimation two 
hundred acres, & being lot N° 91. & bounded as follows. 
Beginning at the Northwest corner of said tract at a stake 
& stones on the old Province line ; then running South by 
lot N<? 89 & lot N? 88. & lot N? 87 To a stake & stones 
on land of Michael French ; then turning & running East 
by said French's land to a stake & stones ; then turning 
& running North by land of Francis Chase & Jonas 
Thompson to the State line to a stake & stones ; then 
Westwardly on the State line to the first mentioned 
bounds. — 

Also another tract of land lying on the Northeast corner 



APPENDIX 257 

of said Royalston, containing by estimation two hundred 
acres, being lot N'? 95. & bounded as follows — Begin- 
ning at a stake & stones on the Northeast corner of 
Pierpoint's farm, then running North on land of John 
Hancock, Esq ; to a stake & stones on the State line ; 
then Westwardly on the State line to a stake & stones to 
the corner of lot N"? 94 ; then running South by said Lot 
to a stake & stones on Pierpoint's farm ; and then run- 
ning East on said farm to the first mentioned bounds. — 

Also another tract of land lying in a place called Roy- 
alston — Leg, being lot N"? 103. situate North from 
Winchendon Meeting house, about three miles & an half, 
containing by estimation two hundred acres, & bounded 
as follows, viz* — Beginning at the Southwest corner at a 
stake & stones ; then running East on Winchendon North 
line to a stake & stones, then turning & running North 
by lot N? 104. to a stake & stones on the State line ; then 
running West on the State line to a stake & stones ; then 
turning & running South by lot N*? 102. to the first men- 
tioned bounds. — 

Also one ninth part of lot N° 22. containing by Estima- 
tion two hundred acres. — 

Also one ninth part of lot N° 50. containing about 
ninety acres. — 

Also one ninth part of Lot N? 70 containing by estima- 
tion, two hundred acres — 

All the abovesaid tracts of land lying in Eoyalston in 
the County aforesaid, & bounded as above respectively 
described & as the same may be bounded, plotted & re- 
corded in the Proprietors book of Records in said Royal- 
ston, with all the privileges, appurtenances & easements 
to the Several tracts or lots of land belonging. As to Us 
hath been made to appear of Record. — 

We Command you therefore, that, without delay, 
you cause Us to have possession of & in the before- 



258 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

described tracts or lots of land, with all the privileges, 
appurtenances & easements to the same belonging — 

Hereof fail not, & make return of this Writ, with your 
doings therein, unto Our said Inferiour Court of Common 
Pleas, to be holden at Worcester, upon the last Tuesday 
of March next. — 

Witness Artemas Ward, Esquire, at Worcester, the twenty 
fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord Seventeen 
hundred & eighty one. 

Jos. Allen, Cler. 

Worcester ss. February the 10*? 1781. 

By Virtue of the within Writ, I have delivered Posses- 
sion of the lands, tenements & hereditaments within 
described, to Levi Lincoln, Esq ; specially impowered & 
appointed by Robert T. Paine Esq' Attorney-General of 
the Commonwealth, to receive the same. — 

Jonathan Eice, D^ Sheriff. 

The foregoing is a true Copy of the original on file, 
examined this twentieth day of October, one thousand 
seven hundred & eighty three. 

Atti J. Allen, Cler. 

(Endorsed) 

Commonw vs. J Chandler Esq! 
Hab. fac. Poss"? 
Copy 



APPENDIX 259 

[Number 63.] 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts — 

Hampshire ss At the Inferior Court of Common Pleas 
holden at Northampton within and for the 
County of Hampshire on the second Tuesday 
of February being the thirteenth day of said 
month & from day to day to the Nineteenth 
Day of the same month in the Year of our 
Lord One thousand seven hundred & eighty 
one 

Be it remembre'd that Kobert Treat Paine EsqF Attorney 
General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and in 
their behalf complains of John Chandler late of Worces- 
ter in the County of Worcester Esqf and gives the Court 
here to understand and be informed that the said John 
Chandler since the Nineteenth day of April in the Year 
of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and seventy 
five, to wit, on the twentieth day of the same April being 
an Inhabitant and Member of the late Province now 
State of Massachusetts Bay, levied War and conspired to 
levy War against the Government & People of the Pro- 
vince Colony and State and then & there adhered to the 
King of Great Britain his Fleets and Armies, Enemies 
of the said Province Colony & State and then & there 
did give to them Aid and Comfort ; and the said John 
Chandler EsqF before the said Nineteenth day of April 
in the Year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred 
and seventy five and after the Arrival of Thomas Gage 
EsqF Commander in Chief of all his Brittannic Majesty's 
Forces in North America at Boston the Metropolis of this 
State Viz* on the first day of October in the Year of our 
Lord One thousand seven hundred and seventy four did 
withdraw from Worcester aforesaid his usual Place of 



260 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Habitation within this State into the said Town of Bos- 
ton with an Intention to seek & obtain the Protection of 
the said Thomas Gage and of the Forces then & there 
beinsf under his Command — And the said John Chan- 
dler since the said nineteenth day of April Viz* on the 
thirtieth day of March in the Year of our Lord One 
thousand seven hundred & seventy six without permission 
of the Legislative or Executive Authority of this or any 
other of the United States of America did withdraw him- 
self from this Province Colony and State into Parts and 
Places under the acknowledged Authority and Dominion 
of the said King of Great Brittain and into Parts and 
Places within the Limits of some of the said Provinces 
Colonies and United States being in the Actual Posses- 
sion and under the Power of the Fleets and Armies of 
the said King Viz* to Halifax in the Province of Nova 
Scotia and to New York in the Province Colony & State 
of New York, and the said John Chandler has not since 
returned into any of the said United States and been 
received as a Subject — And the said John Chandler by 
means of all & singular the Offences aforesaid hath 
freely renounced all civil & political Relation to each & 
every of the said United States and hath become an 
Alein — And the said Attorney General further al- 
ledgres that the said John Chandler since the said Nine- 
teenth Day of April aforesaid Viz* on the twentieth day 
of the same April was seized & possessed and intituled 
to be seized & possessed of and to have & demand to his 
own Use the following Tracts Lots & Parcells of Land 
situate & lying in the County of Hampshire aforesaid — 
Viz* The Lots numbred Nine, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fif- 
teen, Thirty three, Fifty six. Fifty Nine, Eighty five. 
Eighty six, Ninety seven, Ninety eight & One hundred 
eleven, containing each of them One hundred Acres, and 
all in the first Division of Lots in the Town of Murrays- 



APPENDIX 261 

field in the same County — Also the following Lots in 
the second Division of Lotts in said Murraysfield con- 
taining two hundred Acres each — Viz* the Lots num- 
ber'd Twenty One, twenty three, twenty four, Twenty 
six, Twenty seven. Thirty, Thirty One, Thirty three. 
Forty six, & Two hundred — Also the following Lots in 
the third Division of Lots in said Murraysfield Viz* The 
Lot number'd Six containing One hundred & five Acres, 
the Lot number'd Seven containing Ninety five Acres, 
the Lot number'd Twenty containing One hundred 
Acres — Also three Interval Lots so called in the same 
Division containing about fifty Acres each and are 
marked in the Plan of the same Town O P Q. — Also 
the Lot number'd One containing about two hundred 
Acres lying in the second Division of Lands in Norwich 
in the same County and fifty four Acres and One hun- 
dred & five rods on the West End of Lot number'd 
Sixty four in the same Division and butted easterly on 
that part of the same Lot which was sold by Order of 
Court — Also One undivided fifth part of about two 
thousand Acres of Land lying in said Murraysfield and 
is bounded westerly on Lot N? 48 northerly on Lots 
N? 39 & 33. Easterly on Lots N? 29. 30. 85. 86. & 87. 
Southerly on Interval Lots on the West Branch and a 
small part between Lots N? 88, 6, 5 & 1. & John Bol- 
tons Grant in the said Town of Murraysfield in Common 
with the original Proprietors of the same Town — Also 
One undivided fifth part of the Grant of Land to the 
same Proprietors in Lieu of Ponds and Bridges con- 
taining about twelve hundred Acres and is adjoining to 
Cumington in Common with the said Proprietors, with 
their Appurtenances to him the said John Chandler and 
his Heirs — And the said Attorney General further al- 
ledges that by Force of the Premises and of the Law of 
this State intituled An Act for confiscating the Estates 



262 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

of certain Persons commonly called Absentees, the above 
described Lands & Appurtenances ought to escheat inure 
and accrue to the sole Use and Benefit of the Comon- 
wealth aforesaid and they accordingly ought to be in Pos- 
session thereof 

Wherefore the said Attorney General in behalf of the 
Commonwealth aforesaid prays the Advice of the Court 
here in the Premises and due Process in this behalf to be 
made — 

Whereupon it is consider'd & order'd that the foregoing 
Complaint now exhibited by Robert Treat Paine Esqf 
Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
be continued to the next Term, and that the Clerk of this 
Court do cause to be published in three of the public 
Papers a Schedule of the Lands &c set forth in said 
Complaint for three Weeks successively that all Persons 
claiming said Lands or any part thereof may enter their 
said Claims at the next Term of this Court the third 
Tuesday of May next after the Second Tuesday of Feb- 
ruary aforesaid — 

At which Term Robert Treat Paine Esq^ Attorney 
General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, comes 
into Court further to prosecute the foregoing Complaint, 
and Proclamation agreable to Law being now made to all 
Persons claiming the Lands aforedescribed to enter their 
Claims &c — Thaddeus Newton of Murrays field afore- 
said Yeoman by Simeon Strong Esqr' his Attorney comes 
into Court and claims to hold in Fee the Lot number'd 
Nine in the first Division in said Murrays field being 
One of the Lots of Land described in said Complaint, 
and the Court are thereupon pleased to order that said 
Complaint be further continued to the next Term the last 
Tuesday of August next after the said third Tuesday of 
May aforesaid — 

At which said Term the said Rob. Treat Paine EsqT 



APPENDIX 263 

comes here on behalf of the Commonwealth aforesaid 
further to prosecute &c But Thaddeus Newton nor any- 
other Person appearing at this Time to take upon himself 
the Defence of this Suit — Proclamation is therefore 
three several Times made to aU Persons claiming the 
Estate or any the Lands described in the foregoing Com- 
plaint either in their own Right or on the part and behalf 
of the said John or of any Person whomsoever to come 
and defend the same Suit, and no Person appearing to 
take upon him the Defence of this Suit, it is by the Court 
therefore considered, that the said John is guilty in Man- 
ner as in the said Complaint is alledged against him and 
that the Lands described in the said Complaint with the 
Appurtenances are forfeited, and do escheat enure and 
accrue to the sole Use and Benefit of the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts 

Hampshire ss Oct^ 18. 1783. I do hereby certify 

that the foregoing is a true Copy of 

the Record — 

Att® Rob Breck Cler — 



[Number 64.] 

Worcester ss — The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

©To the Sheriff or Marshal of our said County 
of Worcester, his Under Sheriff or Deputy, 
Greeting 

Whereas We, before our Justices of Our 
Inferiour Court of Common Pleas, holden for and within 
Our County of Worcester aforesaid, at Worcester, upon 
the second Tuesday of December last, by adjournment 
from the first Tuesday of the same Month by a resolve of 
the Great & General Court, by the Consideration of our 
said Inferiour Court, recovered Judgment for Our Title 



264 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

& Possession of, & in, the lands, tenements & heredita- 
ments hereafter described, late the estate of John 
Chandler, late of Worcester aforesaid, Esquire, an Ab- 
sentee, agreeable to the tenor & form, & by virtue of an 
Act of the Great & General Court intitled " An Act for 
confiscating the Estates of certain persons commonly- 
called Absentees." 

Viz. 

A tract of land situate about Thirty Rods Northeast- 
wardly of the Meeting house in Worcester, containing by 
estimation about one Acre, more or less, & bounded as 
follows, viz. North-westerly, on the Country road — South- 
eastwardly, on Ministerial land — Southwestwardly, on 
the Town Common or road leading from said Meeting- 
house to the Town of Grafton ; together with one large 
upright dwelling house, two barns, a Corn-barn, a large 
Store, & a Tenement formerly improved as an Office, as 
also other out buildings on the same standing. 

Also another Tract of land situate about two miles 
from the Meeting-house aforesaid. South on the road 
leading from Worcester to the Town of Sutton, containing 
about two hundred Acres by estimation, more or less, 
commonly called, or known by the name of, the Mill 
farm. And bounded Westwardly on said road — South- 
wardly, partly on Gardiner Chandler's land, partly on 
Blackstone River & partly on Nathan Perry's land — 
Eastwardly, partly on said Perry's land, & partly on 
Joshua Whitney's land, as the Wall now stands, until it 
comes to the land belonging to the heirs of Tyrus Rice — 
Northwardly, partly on land belonging to the said Tyrus 
Rice, partly on Richard Pratt's land, partly on land be- 
longing to the estate of James Putnam Esq^ an Absentee, 
& partly on the land belonging to Absalom Rice & Jona- 
than Rice, & partly on land of Jonathan Grout until it 
comes to the road — Consisting of mowing, tillage, pastur- 



APPENDIX 265 

ing, orcharding & wood land, with buildings thereon, con- 
sisting of one upright dwelling house & barn & other out 
buildings. — 

Also, another tract of land situate about two miles 
South of the Meeting house aforesaid, & situate on the 
Westwardly side of said road leading from Worcester to 
Sutton, containing eight Acres by estimation, more or less, 
& bounded as follows. Northwardly on land of Jonathan 
Grout — Southwardly & Westwardly on land of Joshua 
Whitney & Gardiner Chandler — Eastwardly, on said 
road leading to Sutton; together with two Grist-Mills 
thereon standing. — 

Also, tract of Wood land, situate about two miles 
North-eastwardly of the Court house, containing seventeen 
Acres by estimation, more or less, & bounded as follows 

— Eastwardly, on land belonging to the Widow Holbrook 

— Southwardly on Charles Adams's land — Northwardly 
& Westwardly on the Town land upon Mill-Stone Hill 
(so called) 

Also, A tract of land, being a Cedar Swamp, situate 
about two miles and an half South westwardly from the 
Meeting House aforesaid, containing by estimation ten 
Acres, more or less, & bounded as follows, Eastwardly, 
Southwardly & Westwardly on Noah Jones's land & 
Northwardly on William Mahon's land. — 

Also, a Tract of Pasture land, situate Northwestwardly 
From the Meeting house aforesaid near to Cap* Micah 
Johnson's dwelling house, containing by estimation about 
sixty Acres, & bounded Northwardly on said Johnson's 
land, on Col*^ Gardiner Chandler's land — Westwardly & 
Southwardly on William Young's land — & Eastwardly 
partly on said Young's land, partly on John Barnard's 
land, & partly on Joshua Symond's land — 

Also, another tract of pasture land situate about three 
miles Northwestwardly from the Meeting house aforesaid, 



266 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

near to Cap* Samuel Mower's dwelling house, containing 
by estimation twenty five Acres more or less — and 
bounded Eastwardly on said Mower's land, Southwardly 
on Amos Wheeler's land — Westwardly on David Moore's 
land — and Northwardly on John Mower's land — 

Also, Another tract of land situate about sixty rods 
South- westwardly from the Meeting-house aforesaid, on the 
Country road leading to Leicester, containing by estima- 
tion three hundred & ten Acres, more or less, and bounded 
as follows, viz — South-eastwardly, on the said Country 
road. South-westwardly on a road leading from the said 
Country road to Jacob Hemingway's dwelling house, 
commonly called Hemingway's road, as far as Beaver 
brook — & then turning & running Northwardly on 
beaver brook or said Hemingway's land until it comes to 
Joseph Blair's land — And then running Eastwardly on 
said Blair's land until it comes to Jennison Sterne's land, 
& running Eastwardly on said Sterne's land, until it 
comes to a Corner in said Sternes land & then running 
Northwardly on said Sterne's land until it comes to Tatnick 
road — and then running Eastwardly on said road until 
it comes to Gardiner Chandler's land — and then running 
Southwardly on said Gardiner Chandler's land, until it 
comes to a corner in said Chandler's land — & then run- 
ning Eastwardly on said Gardiner Chandler's land, until 
it comes to another corner in said Gardiner Chandler's 
land — and then turning & running Southwardly on said 
Gardiner Chandler's land, until it comes to another cor- 
ner in said Gardiner Chandler's land — and then turning 
& running Eastwardly on said Gardiner Chandler's land 
until it comes to William Johnson's land — and then 
turning & running South-eastwardly on said Johnson's 
land until it comes to the land belonging to the heirs Of 
James Brown late of said Worcester — Then turning & 
running Southwardly on said Heir's land to a corner of 



APPENDIX 267 

the said land — then turning & running Eastwardly on 
said Heir's land until it comes to the Country road afore- 
said — Together with one two storied dwelling house & 
two barns standing thereon — About one hundred & fifty 
acres being under improvement & consisting of pasturing, 
mowing, tillage & orcharding ; & the rest wood land. 

Also, another tract of land lying Southwardly of the 
said Hemingway's road, & containing, by estimation, 
about twenty acres, & bounded as follows, viz. North- 
wardly on said road — Eastwardly, partly on land of 
Ezra Jones, & partly on land belonging to the heirs of 
Zebediah Kice — Southwardly on Gardiner Chandler's 
land — Westwardly on Cap? Ebenezer Lovett's land — 
About four Acres being under improvement ; & consist- 
ing of pasturing & orcharding, & the rest Wood land. — 

Also, another tract of land, the Westwardly corner of 
which being situate about thirty rods East of the Court 
house in said Worcester, containing by estimation One 
hundred & ninety five acres, more or less, & bounded as 
follows, viz" — Westwardly & Northwardly, on the Country 
road — Northwardly & Westwardly on land of Timothy 
Paine EsqF — Northwardly on land of the Honorable 
John Hancock Esq' — Eastwardly on land of Charles 
Adams — South-eastwardly, partly on land of Thomas 
Wheeler, partly on land of Stephen Salisbury, & partly 
on land belonging to the estate of James Putnam EsqF an 
Absentee — Southwardly, on Gardiner Chandler's land 
— Westwardly & Southwardly on the land belonging to 
Daniel Hey wood — and Westwardly, by various lines, 
partly on land belonging to the heirs of Abel Heywood, 
partly on Joseph Lynde's land, & partly on Col? Timothy 
Bigelow's land until it comes to the Country road afore- 
said — Consisting of mowing, ploughing, pasturing, or- 
charding & wood land, together with one large two storied 
dwelling house, one large barn, a Corn barn, a tenement 



268 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

formerly improved as an Office — another tenement now 
improved as a Tailor's shop, & other out buildings all 
standing on the said tract of land — All the abovemen- 
tioned tracts of land lying in Worcester aforesaid bounded 
as above respectively described, & as the same may be 
bounded according to his right & title thereto. — 

Also another tract of land, lying partly in said Worces- 
ter, & partly in Leicester in the County of Worcester, 
situate about three miles from the Meeting house in said 
Worcester, containing by estimation about three hundred 
Acres, more or less, & bounded as follows, viz. Beginning 
at the North-westwardly corner of Noah Jones's home- 
stead, & running westwardly on the Country road until it 
comes to the Leicester line : And then turning & run- 
ning Southwardly on Nathan Sargeant's land, it being 
the Western line of Worcester — & then turning, & run- 
ning into Leicester Westerly on said Nathan Sargeant's 
land until it comes to Robert Henry's land — And then 
turning & running Southwardly on Robert Henry's land 
until it comes to land belonging to the heirs of Thomas 
Denny, late of said Leicester — Then turning & running 
Eastwardly on land belonging to the heirs of the said 
Thomas Denny ; & then turning & running Southwardly 
on said Heir's land, & then turning & running Eastwardly 
until it strikes the Town line ; & then turning & run- 
ning Northwardly on the land of the said heirs ; & then 
turning & running Eastwardly on land of John Griggs — 
and then turning & running Northwardly partly on said 
Griggs's land & partly on Jonathan Phillips's land until 
it comes to the Town road — And then running West- 
wardly on said Noah Jones's land, & then turning & 
running Northwardly on said Noah Jones's land to the 
first mentioned bounds — Consisting of mowing, tillage, 
pasturing, orcharding & wood land ; together with one 
upright dwelling house & barn standing on the same. — 



APPENDIX 269 

Also two third parts of two hundred Acres of land 
lying Partly in Oxford & partly in Charlton, both in the 
County of Worcester, in common, & undivided, with one 
Benjamin Rich : Said two hundred Acres being bounded 
as follows, viz. Southwardly, on Cox's land, so called, 
Westwardly on John Stephens's land, being Lot N? 5. 
Northwardly on Thompson's land, so called, — & East- 
wardly on said Stephens's land — Consisting of mowing, 
ploughing, pasturing, orcharding & wood land, with one 
old Mansion house & old barn standing on the same. — 

Also, a Pew in the aforesaid Worcester Meeting house, 
situate on the lower floor of the same, & adjoining to the 
North end of the pew of Timothy Paine EsqF & being 
the second walled pew North of the front door. — 

Also, another Pew in said Meeting house, situate on 
the lower floor, & in the South-westwardly corner of said 
Meeting house, & adjoining to the South side of the pew 
now improved by Col? Thomas Wheeler, & the West 
side of the Pew now or lately improved by one Noyes. 

Also, another Pew, situate on the lower floor of said 
Meeting house, being the second wall pew West of the 
South door, adjoining to the East end of the Pew im- 
proved, or lately improved, by said Noyes, & the West 
end of the Pew occupied by Chapin & others. — 

Also, three fifths of another pew, situate on the lower 
floor of said Meeting house, being the wall pew adjoining 
to the North side of the Pulpit & to the South side of the 
Pew possessed by Daniel Heywood & others — With all 
the privileges, appurtenances & easements to each & every 
of the above described tracts of land, to each & every of 
the buildings aforesaid, & to the said several pews belong- 
ing, as to Us hath been made to appear of record. — 

We command you Therefore, that, without delay, you 
cause us to have possession of, & in, the lands, tenements 
& hereditaments aforesaid, with all the Privileges, appur- 



270 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

tenances & easements to each & every of them belong- 
ing. — Hereof fail not ; & make return of this Writ 
with your doings therein unto our said Inf eriour Court of 
Common Pleas ; to be holden at Worcester, upon the last 
Tuesday of March next. — 

Witness Artemas Ward, Esquire, at Worcester, the 
twenty fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord 
Seventeen hundred & eighty one. — 

Jos. Allen, Cler. 

Worcester ss. February the 21*.* 1781. By virtue of 
the within Writ, I have delivered possession of the lands, 
tenements & hereditaments within described to Levi Lin- 
coln, Esquire, specially impowered & appointed by Rob* 
T. Paine Esquire, Attorney General of the Common- 
wealth, to receive the same. — 

Jonathan Rice, DT Sheriff 

The foregoing, containing seven pages, is a true copy 
of the Original on file. Examined this twentieth day of 
October One thousand seven hundred & eighty three. 

Att! J. Allen, Cler. 

(Endorsed) 

Commonw. vs. J. Chandler Esq! 
Hab. fac. Poss? 
Copy 

[Number 65.] 

[Appointment of Appraisers for the Worcester property. 
Same as No. 3, probate files, except that it does not contain the 
appraisers' return.] 

[Number 66.] 

An Inventory of the Personal Estate belonging to John 
Chandler Esq^ Late of Worcester — Shewn to us by the 



APPENDIX 271 

Agent for said Estate which we have Apprized at the 
sums following — [What follows is substantially the same 
as No. 11, probate files, but does not contain the agent's 
oath.] 

[Number 67.] 

[Appointment of appraisers for the Leominster property. 
Same as No. 5, probate files.] 



[Number 68.] 

[Appointment of Appraisers for the Royalston property. Same 
as No. 6, probate files. The appraisal which follows is the same 
as No. 8, probate files.] 



[Number 69.] 

[Appointment of Appraisers for the Murrayfield property. 
Same as No. 4, probate files.] 

[Number 70.] 

[Return of the Murrayfield appraisers. Same as No. 9, pro- 
bate files.] 

[Number 71.] 
[Oath of Agent. Same as oath in No. 11, probate files.] 



[Number 72.] 

The forgoing Containing Eleven pages is a true Copy 
from the Originals on file of the Inventories of the Real 
& personal Estate of John Chandler Esq"^ late of Worces- 
ter an Absentee. Exam"? this twenty first Day of Octo- 
ber One Thousand seven Hundred and Eighty three — 
Attest Jos : Wheeler RegT 



272 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

[Number 73.] 
[Judgment Record, Confiscation Suit. Same as Number 31, 
the record heretofore given, of the Inferior Court of Common 
Pleas in the Royalston suit.] 

[Number 74.] 

[Judgment Record, Confiscation Suit. Same as Number 32, 
the record heretofore given, of the Inferior Court of Common 
Pleas in the Worcester Suit.] 

[Number 75.] 
[The duplicates mentioned below are numbers 64, 62, and 63.] 

(Transcriber's Note.) 
(Three papers sewn together with silk thread are found 
on examination to be : 

(1) Duplicate of Writ, pages 153 to 174, with the ex- 
ception that this copy bears at the end the following : — ) 

« Worcester Aug! 26 1783 
" Having Carefully Searched the Records of Deeds 
" for the within Mentioned County of Worcester, I 
" do not finde that the within Named John Chandler 
"Esq' hath Ever made Conveyance of the Lands 
" within Mentioned, or any part of them — 

" Attest Nathan Baldwin Reg^ " 

(2) Writ same as pages 129 to 138 with the exception 
of the same certificate as above.) 

(8) Judgment same as pages 139 to 151, but with some 
of the superfluous wording curtailed, and endorsed " Com- 
monwealth vs John Chandler Esq! Judgment Copy 4/.) 



APPENDIX 



273 



[Number 76.] 

I Certify that in the Division of the town of Murrayfield 
in the County of Hamshire in New England, Among 
the Proprietors ; whereof the Hon^}^ John Chandler Esq^ 
now an Absentee was one, the following Lotts fell to the 
Right of the said John Chandler as they appear now 
upon Record upon the Proprietors Records now with 



me 



first Division 
Viz*, drawn, 1 Oc* 1763 



the Second Division 
drawn 12 Dec^ 1764 



N? 


Acres 


5 . 


. 102 


9 . 


. 102 


14 . 


. 102 


20 . 


. 102 


24 . 


. 102 


28 . 


. 102 


59 . 


. 102 


98 . 


. 100 


85 . 


. 100 


95 . 


. 100 


97 . 


. 100 


Ill . 


. 100 


N° 1 . 


. 247 


23 . 


. 200 


24 . 


. 200 


20 . 


. 200 


27 . 


. 153 



Rods 

80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 



274 



THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 





Letter 


Acres 


Rods 


Intervail Lotts 


o . 


. 50 . 






p . 


50 . 






Q . 


50 . 






N9 31 . 


203 . 






33 . 


200 . 






30 . 


200 . 






46 . 


200 . 






62 . 


205 . 






64 . 


200 . 






71 . . 


200 . 




third Division 








drawn ^^ Oc* 1771 


6 . 


100 . 






20 . 


100 . 






7 . 


95 . 




his share in the 








undivided lands 








being a 5*** Part 









NB. the Town of Murrayf eild ^ 
being divided into two Towns — 
part of the above Lands lye in 
that Part called Norwich 



Worcester, Oct. 29-1783 

Att« Tim? Paine Pro? Cler. 



[Number 77.] 

Hampshire ss I Certify that I have made diligent 

Search in the Records of Deeds for said County of Hamp- 
shire and Cannot find any Conveyance of any Lands 
from John Chandler Esquire late of Worcester lying in 
the Town of Murrayfield except the lot N? 92 to Abraham 
Fleming containing 100 acres and the lot N*? QQ to Tim*? 



APPENDIX 275 

Paine Esq^ containing 102 acres and the Lot N*? 17 to 
Caleb Bascom Containing 100 acres and the Lot N"? 51 to 
Thomas Elder and Contains 100 acres 

Att: W¥ Pynchon Reg": 

Hampshire ss Oct'. 31 1783 

(^Endorsed) 

Proprieters Clerk 
of Murraysfield 
Certificate — 

& Certificate from y* Register 
of Deeds for y" County of 
Hampshire 

[Number 78.] 

I hereby Certify that in the Records of deeds for the 
County of Hampshire I find upon said records the follow- 
ing Conveyances of Lands made to John Chandler Esquire 
Lying and being in the Town of Murrayfield in s*^ County 
viz 

One from Tim" Paine Esq': and others of a Lot of land 
containing one Hundred acres being N? 56 also 

One from Jesse Johnson being N? 98 & contains 100 
acres 

One from Abijah Willard Esq' being Lot 32 Contains 
102^ 

One Mortgage from David Gilmore of Lot N° 10 and Con- 
tains 102 acres & 80 rd. also 

One from Abner Smith of Lot N° 20 & contains 100 
acres 

One from John Hannum of lot N? 15 contains 100 acres 

One from David Gilmore of the westerly half of lot N° 10 

One from John Crawford of the lot N? 66 contains 102 
acres 

Hampshire ss October 31 1783 Att : W^ PynCHON Regf 



276 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

(Endorsed) 

M' Pinchon 
Certificate 



[Number 79.] 

Commonwealtli of ) 

Massachusetts ) NovF 4. 1783 

Know all men by these presents that we the Subscrib- 
ers being appointed Commissioners by y® General Court 
of this Commonwealth to Sell and dispose of All the 
Keal & Personal Estate of Persons commonly called Ab- 
sentees lying within the County of Worcester do hereby 
Certify to all whom it may Concern that the whole of 
the Real & Personal Estate belonging to Jn? Chandler 
Esq! late of Worcester & County Aforesaid An Absentee 
lying within the Town & County Aforesaid except that 
part which lyeth in Royalston & also the third part which 
was allowed the Wife of the s*^ John for her support & 
maintenance during her natural Life have been sold 
agreeable to the Laws of the Commonwealth 

Caleb Ammidown ) Committee for 
John Fessenden ) Said County 

(Endorsed) 

Certificate of y* Sale 
of County of Worcester 
Estate 



[Number 80.] 

SF 

I herewith Inclose a Certificate (N" 1) of the Sale of 
my Estate situated in Royalston and W^inchendon which 
in my Schedule is discribed by N** 13 so that you now 
have Certificates of the Sale of all my Estate, Except 
that part Set of to my late wife for her Dower which is 




APPENDIX 277 

thus discribed in my Schedule viz* NS 1, N? 5, N° 6, 
N? 9, N? 3 part of N? 12 and also ten Acres of Land 
part of N? 7 and is particularly ascertained by the In- 
closed Certificate (N? 2) this part of my Estate altho 
actually Confiscated has never yet been Sold and I am In- 
formed that the Legislature of Massachusetts have given 
the Improvement of it to the Children I left in that 
Country for the Term of two years commencing some 
time last spring 

I have the Honor to be 

Sr Your most Humble Serv* 

John Chandler 

N" 10 Paddington Street 
High Street Octo! 11: 1785 

John Forster Esq! 

(Addressed) John Forster Esq' 

{Endorsed) W John Chandler — t^'^*''' ^^ '^''^J 

Mem — to look thro' 
the Evidence & Dec? 
on this Case — 

[Number 81.] 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts — 

To all whom it may concern 

This may certify that Caleb Ammidon 
Esq"^ is one of the Committee appointed to 
sell Absentees Estates in the County of 
Worcester in this Commonwealth And that 
faith & Credit is & ought to be given to his 
Acts & Attestations in that Capacity both in 
& out of Court. 

In Testimony whereof I have caused the Public Seal 
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to be hereto af- 
fixed this twenty ninth day of June A? D! 1785, in the 




278 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Ninth Year of the Independence of the United States of 
America. 

James Bowdoin 

Governor of the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts 

By His Excellency's Command — 
John Avery jun' Secretary — 

[Number 82.] 

Commonwealth ) 

of Massachusetts i June 18*^ 1785 — 

These are to certify to all whom it may concern, that 
that part of the Estate belonging to John Chandler 
Esqf late of Worcester an Absentee, lying in Royalston 
& Winchendon in the County of Worcester has been sold 
at public Auction agreeable to an order from the Govern- 
ment & that the amount of the Sales was four hundred & 
forty five Pounds sixteen shillings & Eight pence Law- 
ful Silver money — 

( P' order 
Caleb Ammidown I of the 

' Committee 

(^Endorsed) 

N? 1 — Certificate of the 
Sale of John Chandler,s Estate 
situated in Royalston and 
Winchendon 

[Number 83.] 
[Report of committee appointed to set off dower and decree 
of court — same as No. 16, probate files.] 



APPENDIX 279 

[Number 84.] 
Sir 

On the 11*'* of October I left a Letter at your office, 
Inclosing a Certificate (N° 1) of the Sale of my Estate 
Situated in Royalstone and Winchendon, which in my 
Schedule is discribed by N" 13. so that you now have 
certificates of the Sale of all my Estate, except the part 
set of to my late wife for her dower, which is thus dis- 
cribed in my Schedule Viz* N° 1 — N" 5 — N" 6 — N° 9 
— N° 3 — part of N° 12 — and also ten acres of land 
part of N° 7 and is particularly ascertained by Certificate 
(N° 2) which I at the Same time Inclosed, this part of 
my Estate though actually Confiscated has not been Sold 
and I am Informed that the Legislature of Massachusetts 
have Given the Improvement of it to the Children I left 
in that Country for the Term of two years commencing 
some time last Spring, and being this particularly Situ- 
ated if a Certificate of the Sale of it is required I must 
finally loose this valuable part of my Estate. — 

As I had my hearing before the Commissioners in 
March last, and was not Included in the report, I suppose 
Some evidence was necessary that had not been produced 
at my hearing, and I am anxious to know Whether the 
Certificates before mentioned (inclosed in my letter of the 
11*^ of October) are Satisfactory, or whether any further 
evidence is required, and shall be very much obliged to 
you Sir for any Information you can give me Concerning 
this business — 

I have the Honor to be 

S^ your most Humble Serv* 

John Chandler 

N" 10 Paddington Street 
High Street Nov' 10 : 1785. 

John Forster Esq' 



280 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

(^Endorsed) 

Nov! 10'" 1786 
443 

John Chandler 

relates to the Confiscation 
of his Property &c 
Received since the hearing 
(Addressed) 

John Forster Esq' 

Secretary to the Commissioners 
of American Claims 



[Number 85.] 

ST 

I Inclose three Certificates lately received from 
America, they ascertain that part of my Estate which has 
actually been sold, and also that part which still remains 
unsold, If you compare these Certificates with my 
Schedule you will find that the part which remains unsold 
is thus discribed there, viz* N° 1. N° 5. N° 6. N° 9. N** 
3. part of N" 12 and also ten acres part of N" 7, and I 
am Informed that the Legislature of the Massachusetts 
have granted the Improvement of this unsold part of my 
Estate to the Children I left in that Country for the term 
of two years commencing some time last Spring, which 
I beleive was mentioned in a Letter I Troubled you with 
last Autumn, And altho I Expect this part of my Estate 
which remains unsold will be finally lost to my family 
the same being actually Confiscated, yet I do not wish 
my affairs to remain unfinished for the purpose of haveing 
my Claim open in order to be Compensated for the Same 
when Sold, for I am an old man and wish to know the 
fate of my Claim — I have to request SF that you will lay 
these Certificates before the Board of Commissioners ; 
and as I never Expect to procure any further Evidence 



APPENDIX 281 

Concerning my Losses, I flatter my Self that what I have 
produced will be Satisfactory, and that I shall be Included 
in the next report — 

I have the Honor to be 

S'' your most Humble Serv* 

John Chandler 

N° 20 Winchester Row 
Feb 28: 1786 — 

John Forster Esq' Seer &" 

(Addressed) 

John Forster Esq! Secretary 

To the Commissioners on the American Claims — 

(Endorsed) 

28. Feb. 1786 

443 

M' John Chandler 

Inclosing addl Certify 
of Confisc? & Sale 
received since the hearing of the Claim — 



[Number 86.] 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts — 

To aU whom it may concern 

This may certify That, John Fessenden and 
John Warner Esq?"^ are a Major Part of the 
Committee for the Sale of the Estates of 
Absentees for the County of Worcester, and 
that John Kirkland EsqT and Mrf Benjamin 
Bonney are a Major Part of the Committee 
for the sale of the Estates of Absentees in 
the County of Hampshire, appointed by the 
General Court of this Commonwealth — 




282 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

And that full Faith and Credit is & ought to 

be given to their Acts & Attestations as on 

the annexed Papers both in & out of Court — 

In Testimony whereof I have caused the public seal of 

the said Commonwealth to be hereto affixed this third 

day of January A<? Di 1786 in the Tenth Year of the 

Independence of the United States of America — 

James Bowdoin 

Governor of the Commonwealth 
By His Excellency's Command of Massachusetts 

John Avery jun' Secretary 



[Number 87.] 

Worcester ss Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

Decf 27*^ADl785 — 
To whom it may concern — 

We the Subscribers being duly appointed by the gen- 
eral Assembly of the Commonwealth aforesaid a Com- 
mittee for the purpose of selling confiscated Estates in 
the County of Worcester within the same Common- 
wealth — Do hereby certify, that aU the real Estate be- 
longing to the Hon^l® John Chandler Esquire, late of 
Worcester in the County of Worcester an Absentee, 
aforesaid . . which was confiscated, has been sold for the 
Use of the Government, excepting, the said John's late 
Mansion House, with the Stores, Gardens &c near the 
meeting house in said Worcester, the said Johns Farm 
&c. near the Court House with his two pastures on a 
place called Tatnick Hill, seventeen Acres of Woodland, 
near Charles Adams's, ten Acres of the Up town Farm so 
called, and one pew in the meeting house, the afores? 
Tenements, Estate &c, were assignd to the late Mary 



APPENDIX 283 

Chandler de"* the then wife of the said John, for her 

maintainance & Support 

Commissioners for the purpose 
of selling Confiscated Estates — 
within y® Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts — 



John Fessenden 
Jon4 Warner 



[Number 88.] 

Commonwealth of ) 

Massachusetts Bay ) Norwich NovF 1783 

We the Subscribers two of the Committee appointed 
by the General Court for selling Confiscated Estates lying 
in the County of Hampshire belonging to Absentees — 
Do hereby Certify that all the Eeal Estate lying in the 
County Aforesaid belonging to John Chandler EsqF late 
of Worcester in the County of Worcester an Absentee 
that has been Confiscated was sold agreeable to the Laws 
of s? Commonwealth 

Committee of 
John Kirklaud Confiscated Estates 
Benja Bonney for the County 
of Hampshire 

(Endorsed) 

Certificate of the 
Sale of the Real 
Estate of 

John Chandler — 



[Number 89.] 

[Duplicate of the foregoing certificate of Kirkland and Bon- 
ney, not here transcribed. It is dated 3 November 1783.] 



284 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

[Number 90.] 
TO THE HONOURABLE COMMISSIONERS 
appointed by act of Parliament for inquiring into the 
Losses and Services of the American Loyalists. 

The memorial of John Chandler formerly of Worces- 
ter in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, but now 
of his majestys Province of Nova Scotia. 

Humbly Sheweth 

That on the twenty fifth day of July last he obtained 
permission from your Honourable bord to receive his 
allowance for Temporary Support by his Agent during 
his absence from Great Britain for twelve months, and as 
he was then Informed that the Same would cease at the 
expiration of that period unless application should be 
made for a renewal of that permission, to be accompanied 
with an account of your memorialists Situation, he Begs 
leave to State to your Honourable board that he arrived 
in the Province of Nova Scotia in November last and has 
remained there ever Since. 

That being an old man aged more than Sixty Six 
Years he did not leave England with any Intention of 
doing Business and wishes to remain in Nova Scotia only 
for the purpose of being with his Children haveing two 
Sons in that province and a Daughter maryed to a MF 
Putnam of New Brunswick. 

That one of his Sons who faithfully Served his majesty 
in the Quarter Master General Department Several Years 
during the American War, is now so Infirm, as to be in- 
capable of doing any Business, and haveing no property, 
or any allowance from Government, depends wholly on 
your memorialist for his Subsistance, and your memorial- 
ist haveing no other means of Support than he had when 



APPENDIX 285 

he left Great Britain, and this Country being much more 
Expensive than that, He Humbly Prays that his allow- 
ance for Temporary Support may be continued to him 
and that the Same may be paid to his Agent 

John Chandler 

Halifax Nova Scotia 
Mayl: 1787 — 

(Endorsed) 

Mass. 
John Chandler 
memorial for Continuance 
of his Allowance 

P Ml Rogers 
N? 23 Charlotte Street 

Portland Place — 

will attend on Thursday 12'" July 1787 
at 2 O'clock — 

July 13'^ 

Leave to 10. Oct. 1788 



[Number 91.] 

Annapolis Royal August 30 : 1788 
Sir 

Having received yours of the 27*^ of June last inclosing 
an account from the Massachusetts of the demands that 
have been Set up and allowed by that State against my 
Estate, to the amount of three Thousand and twenty Six 
pound ten shillings and Six pence half penny Lawful 
mony and requiring me to Transmit upon oath an Expla- 
nation of the Said account, Stating particularly whether 
any and which of the said demands were Justly due either 
in the whole or in part and to what extent, I now forward 
the Enclosed Affidavit and accounts annexed to it, which 
altogether contains the most particular and best account 
of that business that I can possibly give, and I request 



286 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

you will have the Goodness to lay the Same before the 
Honourable Commissioners — 
I have the Honour to be 

S' Your most obedient and 
most Humble Serv* 

John Chandler 
Chaeles Munro Esqf 

(^Endorsed) 

Aug? 30f 1788 
John Chandler 

Transmitting affid? 
relative to Incumbrances 



[Number 92.] i 
John Chandler an American Loyalist formerly of Worces- 
ter In the County of Worcester in the Province of Massa- 
chusetts Bay, But now of Annapolis Royal in the County 
of Annapolis in the Province of Nova Scotia Esq"", maketh 
oath and Saith that the paper writing hereunto annexed 
Marked Exhibit N° 1. is a true Copy of an Account 
which came to this Deponant Inclosed in a letter Signed 
Charles Munro dated American Office Lincolns Inn Field 
June 27* 1788 — and this Deponant further Saith that 
he verily beleives that the paper writing here unto an- 
nexed marked Exhibit N" 2. Contains a true account of 
the demands that have been allowed by the Judge of Pro- 
bate for the County of Worcester in the State of Massa- 
chusetts Bay against the Estate of this deponant, amounting 
in the whole to three Thousand and twenty Six pound 
ten shillings and Sixpence half penny of Lawful mony — 
And this deponant further Saith that he verily beleives 

^ With the exception of the certificate by Winniett on the follow- 
ing page, this set (pages 317 to 335) [Nos. 92-95 inclusive] is in 
John Chandler's own hand. 



APPENDIX 287 

the paper writing hereunto annexed marked Exhibit N° 3 
and signed John Chandler, contains a true account of all 
the Demands Justly due from this deponant to the Sev- 
eral Claimants named in the paper Writings hereunto an- 
nexed marked N° 1 and N" 2 amounting to two Thousand 
one Hundred and thirty seven pound seventeen shillings 
& ten pence half penny of Lawful mony Including Inter- 
est as allowed, and that the Said Paper Writing marked 
Exhibit N° 3 also Contains a true and the best and most 
particular Explanation which this deponant can give of 
the Several Claims and demands Stated in the Said paper 
Writings marked Exhibit N° 1 and Exhibit N'' 2 and this 
Deponant verily beleives that he was not Indebted to the 
said Claiments named in the Said paper Writings marked 
Exhibit N° 1 & Exhibit N° 2 to a greater amount than 
the Said Sum of two Thousand one Hundred and thirty 
Seven pound Seventeen Shillings and ten pence half penny 
or any other wise than is mentioned in the said paper 
Writing marked Exhibit N" 3. 

John Chandler 

Province of Nova Scotia) 

Annapolis ss C Sworn by the above named 

John Chandler at Annapolis Royal in said 
County of Annapolis this thirtieth day of 
August in the Year of our Lord one thou- 
sand seven hundred and Eighty Eight, before 
[Paper seal over Die Joscph Wiuuictt Esquirc ouc of his Ma- 
sion!]' °"^P'®^ jestys Justices of the Peace in and for said 
County, and first Justice of the Court of 
Common Pleas in and for the same County, 
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set 
my Name and affixed the Seal of Said Court. 

Jos? WiNNIETT 




288 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

[Number 93.] 
Exhibit N" 1 
D^ The Estate of John Chandler of Worcester — 

1782 
January 5 To Warrant on the Treasury in 
favour of John Cunningham 
for 36- 7-10 

Octo": 3"* Daniel Bancraft 14-8-11 

1784 

Feb-^ 14 Nath" Heywood 3-11- 

1786 

June 28 Martha Green 591- 0- 

Sarah Green 42-2-6 

Nov 6 Gardner Williams ..... 47-15- 

Additional Claims £1046-12- 5 In Consequence 
Amount of Claims 1979-18- 11 

3026-10- 6^ 

County of Worcester an Absentee CT 

By proceeds of Sale of Said Estate 

In the County of Worcester 2495-18- 3 

D? Hampshire . . 1309- 8- 2 

paid by the agent as amount of Personal 

Estate 156- 2- 2 

3961- 8- 7 
Deduct for Charges of Sale 216-11- 8 

£3744-16-11 
of Resolve of March 1782 

True Copy Attest 

John Avery Jun'^ Secr^ 



APPENDIX 289 

[Number 94.] 

Exhibit I Contains an account of the demands that have 
N° 2 ) been allowed by the Judge of Probate for the 
County of Worcester in the State of Massa- 
chusetts Bay against the Estate of John Chandler an 
American Loyalist formerly of Worcester in the County 
of Worcester in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay 
amounting in the whole to X3026-10-6J Copyed from an 
account thereof which the said John Chandler has received 
from the Massachusetts Bay — viz* 

To Jonathan Gates Jun' of Worcester on 

account X5-12- 

Nathaniel Heywood of Shrewsbury on ac- 
count 3-11 

John Fisk of Worcester on note .... 14- 3 

Phillip Donehen on account 16- 

William Trowbridge of Worcester on ac- 
count 1-14- 2 

Edmund Heard of Lancaster on account . 1-5-8 

James Loyd of Boston on account ... 1-3-0 

Benjamin Greene & Son of Boston on ac- 
count against John and Clark Chandler 

being: one half of the amount .... 576-14- 

Benjamin Greene Executor to Rufus 
Greens Estate of Boston on Bond being 
one half of the Bond due to said Estate 

from John & Clark Chandler .... 392- 6-10^ 

Thomas Fairweather Esqf of Cambridge 
Executor to Mary Hubbard of Boston 
on a bond t . . . 135- 5 

George Bethune Little Cambridge on bond 276- 

Daniel Bancraft of Salem on account . . 14-18-11 

To Benj? Green & Son of Boston on note 

& account 422-19- 2- 



290 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Robert Smith of Murrayfield on ace* . . 30 

Mary Chandler of Worcester on account . 103-9-4 

Total amount of Demands allowed the 7**' 
day of May 1782 Interest Computed to 
the first of January 1782 X1979-18- 1^ 

Benjamin Greene 240-11- 9 

Martha Greene Principal and Interest up 

to the 6*^ of April 1782 591- - - 

Sarah Greene principal & Interest up to 

the 2Q'^ of March 1781 42-2-6 

Gardiner Williams Principal & Interest 

up to May 1783 . 47-15- 

Charles & Sam^ Chandler Principal & In- 
terest up to May 1783 125- 3- 2 

Total Amount of Demands allowed the 7*'' 

of October 1783 X1046-12- 5 

Amount of Demands allowed the 7*^ of 

May 1782 — Brought down .... 1979-18- 1^ 

Total Amount of Demands set up & 

allowed X3026-10- 6i- 

[Number 95.] 

Exhibit ) Contains a true and particular account of the 
N? 3 ) Demands Justly due from John Chandler an 
American Loyalist formerly of Worcester in 
the County of Worcester in the Province of Massachu- 
setts Bay, to the Several Claimants named in the papers 
herewith Exhibited Marked Exhibit N° 1 and Exhibit 
N" 2 amounting to two Thousand One Hundred thirty 
Seven pound Seventeen shillings and ten pence half 
penny of Lawful mony Including Interest as allowed, and 
also the best Explanation the said John Chandler can give 
of the Several Claims and Demands Stated in the said 
papers marked Exhibit N" 1 and Exhibit N° 2 — viz^ 



APPENDIX 291 

To Nathaniel Heywood on account . . . X3-11- 

John Fisk on a note 14- 3- 

James Loyd of Boston 1-3-0 

Benjamin Greene and Son on account . . 576-14- 
Benjamin Greene as Executor of Rufus 

Greene deceased on a Bond .... 392- 6-10^ 
Thomas Fairweather as Executor to Mary 

Hubbard Deceased on a Bond . . . 135- 5- 

George Bethune on a Bond 276 

I Signed this Bond with one William 

Thompson it was for a Debt he owed 

Mr Bethune when I fled from home 

Thompson was considered a man of 

Property, I am Informed that he has 

Since died Insolvent, So that I have 

lost this mony in Consequence of the 

War, for if I had remained in the Mas- 
sachusetts I could have Secured the 

Same 
To Benjamin Greene about 100 

on account of a note of hand Signed by 

Phinehas Lovet which I had from MF 

Greene during the Blockade of Boston, 

I received the mony due thereon from 

Lovet and was obliged to Expend the 

same for my Support before I went to 

England in the Year 1776 and Suppose 

it is included in the Second Demand 

made by Benjamin Greene and Son 

amounting to £422-19-2 

To Martha Greene on a note 591- 0- 

To Gardiner Williams 47-15- 



Total amount of Claims which John 

Chandler allows to be Just . . . <£2137-17-10| 



292 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

I the Said John Chandler do not recollect or know any 
thing about the Claims which by the Papers herewith 
Exhibited, marked Exhibit N° 1 and Exhibit N° 2 ap- 
pear to have been set up by and allowed to the following 
Persons, to wit Jonathan Gates Junf, Phillip Donhen, 
William Trowbridge, Edmund Heard, Daniel Bancraft, 
Robert Smith, and John Cunningham, and verily beleive 
I did not owe the Same or any part thereof — Mary Chan- 
dler was my Wife and Charles and Samuel Chandler 
were my Sons, and both Boys when I Left home so that 
the Claims set up by them must have been for the Sup- 
port of my Family after I fled from home — I formerly 
owed Sarah Greene about twenty nine pound and am Sat- 
isfyed in my own mind that I paid the Same in the Year 
1774. and therefore verily beleive that the Claim set up 
and allowed to the said Sarah as appears by the Paper 
herewith Exhibited marked Exhibit N° 2 amounting to 
X42-2-6 was not due or any part thereof — 

About Six or Eight Years before I fled from home 
Mf Benjamin Greene Shiped for me a Quantity of Pot 
Ashes for London, which I positively ordered to be sold 
for Cash, and MF Greene's agent in London Sent him an 
account of the Sales thereof and made a Charge of five 
per Cent for Prompt pay, but afterwards he Informed 
MF Greene that altho he had Credited him for the Pot 
Ashes as if sold for ready mony that he was in fact 
obliged to sell it upon the Usual Credit, and to a person 
who had Since failed and paid only about ten shillings 
upon the Pound to his Creditors, and Charged M"" Greene 
for the loss, who proposed that I should allow the Same 
to him which I refused to do, and Said that as his agent 
had Sold it Contarary to orders and had Actually Charged 
five per cent as allowed for Prompt pay, he had taken 
the loss upon himself, and ought in Consience to loose it, 
during the Long time I afterwards remained at Home I 



APPENDIX 293 

never heard any thing more about this demand and Sup- 
posed M"^ Greene had given it up, and this Demand is the 
only one I can recollect that Mes? Benjamin Greene and 
Son or Either of them could possebly Set up againt me 
Except for the two Sums which I have allowed in the 
aforegoing Account Amounting both together to £616- 
14- and I verily beleive that the remaining part of the 
Claims Set up by and allowed to the Said Benj? Greene 
or to the Said Benjf Greene and Son amounting altogether 
to X563-10-11 was not due at the time the Claim was 
made, or any part thereof, and that I did not at that time 
owe to the Said Benjamin Greene or to the Said Benja- 
min Greene and Son or both of them together more than 
the Said Sum of X676-14/ as is before Stated 

John Chandler 

(Endorsed) 

John Chandler's 
Affidavit as to 
Incumbrances 

[Number 96.] 

Transcriber's Note. 

[Duplicate of the foregoing letter of 30 August, 1788, and 
its enclosure, endorsed : — ] 
John C bander — 
Ans' to the Charge ag? his 
Estates of Debts due — 
6 Nov! 1788 — 

Duplicate already 
received & considered — 

[Number 97.] 

[From Audit Office, Loyalist series. Volume 81.] 

(In a " report," 4 November 1787 [by M' Anstey] 
upon ye " subject of Confiscation " one sentence alludes 
to M' Chandler thus : — ) " I beg leave to refer the Board 



294 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

to the Act respecting John Chandler passed 28 June 
1781 and to a Paper marked N'' 2 containing Abstracts of 
all the Acts of Naturalization passed before the Close of 
the Session of the last General Court." 

(The paper N" 2 referred to follows that report but 
the entry touching John Chandler is simply as follows :) 
" Chandler John vide Law of the State referred to in the 
report " 

[Number 98.] 

(From Vol. 82. N? 1, p. 1.) 

Alphabetical List 

of the Names of Persons who have lost 
Property real or personal more or less 
by way of Forfeiture and Confiscation 
in the State of Massachusetts Bay. N. A. 



Chandler John W. H. 



(^Endorsed on the back) 

Massachusets 

Certified List of all the 
Persons who have sustained 
Loss of Property more or 
less by way of Forfeiture 
and Confiscation. 

N»9 

31 October 1787 
Com" London. 



APPENDIX 295 

[Number 99.] 

(Audit Office, Loyalist series, Volume 82, N° 3, p. 16.) 

[A duplicate of Number 93.] 

[Number 100.] 
(From Volume 83.) 

(On folio 2 is a Certificate from the Clerk of the Com- 
mon Pleas " relative to Judgment on Libels against Ab- 
sentees " John Chandler's being one of the twenty names 
given.) 

(On folios 46 & 47 are two writs of Worcester County 
same as pages 129 and 153, [Numbers 62 and 63 
Calendar.]) 

(At folio 75, part of a long paper of " Claims against 
Absentees' estates " are two leaves devoted to John 
Chandler but as the same information appears as Exhibit 
2, pages 325 to 327 of these transcripts [Number 94, 
Calendar] they are not here repeated. At the end how- 
ever of the 24 leaf is what seems to be some additional 
information.) [This additional information is a copy of 
the report of the Commissioners to examine Claims given 
in No. 30, probate files.] 



[Number 101.] 

(Extract from Volume 109 the Commissioners Liquidation 

Book) 

PROPERTY 

N» of Certificate Ill 

Name of Claimant Chandler John 

Province Massa: 



296 THE CHANDLER CONFISCATION 

Claim for loss of property 11,067-13 

Sum Originally allowed 7949- 

Sum as allowed on Revision . . . . . 7221- 
pr. Centage to be deducted pr. Act of 

Parliament 

Total Sum payable under Act of Parliament 7221- 

Sum already received 3179-12 

Ballance after such Receipt 4041 -8 

Deduction on account of Pension . . . 60- 

Final BaUance 3981- 8 

INCOME 

Claim for loss of Income per Annum . . 25 

Sum allowed for loss of Income pr. Annum 24 
Pension under the Address of the Ho. of 

Commons of 9 June 1788 12 



Electrotyped and pri7ited by H. O. Houghton 6* Co, 
Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A. 



JUL 29 1903 




'^ ^ , V * ,0 ^ 



rS> 






'bo'^ 











■*'oA^ 



O 0^ 










^0' ^ <>r«->^* V^.' ""vte/ % ':^ 







LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

III ir 11 'iiH'" II iiii . II I II I II I Hill 



I III 






011769 225 5 ^ 



